


Silver Arrow

by flitterflutterfly, skylarjaye



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Dom/sub, Grey Harry, Hufflepuff Harry, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-22
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-01-02 08:39:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1054751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flitterflutterfly/pseuds/flitterflutterfly, https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylarjaye/pseuds/skylarjaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Fenrir laid eyes upon Harry Potter, it was like a silver arrow had just pierced his heart. The first time Harry laid eyes on Fenrir, he was intoxicated. But it would take more than compatibility for Harry to accept Fenrir as his mate. First he had to get used to being a werewolf and then decide if he really wanted to be the alpha submissive of the largest pack in Britain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the story I say marked the transition from FlitterFlutterFly to Skylar Jaye. A story that I dedicated myself to and finished completely, that has a full romance arc and a decent ending. It's not perfect, but I'm proud of it, and I'm glad it got me to where I am now.

In Harry's third year at Hogwarts, Remus Lupin was his Defense teacher. Lupin hadn't ever gone to Hogwarts—werewolves never did—but he was the best teacher Harry ever had. He seemed to pay special attention to Harry, even though Harry was just another orphan leftover from the old war.

Harry flourished under Lupin's attention. Though he'd been cared for at Riddle's Home, the orphanage set up for those left without homes to go back to, he'd never had much one-on-one attention from the caretakers there. Lupin talked to him after class and on the weekends, answering his many questions and helping him with the finer points of Defense.

Lupin even taught him how to do the patronus charm after Harry's boggart had turned into a dementor.

"You're a Defense prodigy, Harry," he said. "I've never seen anyone learn quite like you do."

Harry fancied Lupin the father he'd never had, which was why it was so hard to see him go at the end of the year.

"Why?" he asked as he watched Lupin pack up his office.

"My alpha has called me back to the pack," Lupin explained gently. "I was only ever going to be here for a year."

"Why?" Harry asked again.

Lupin set down his trunk and came over. He placed a warm hand on Harry's shoulder. "You remember when we talked about werewolves in class?"

Harry nodded. "But no one cares that you're a werewolf."

Lupin's lips quirked. "I know. But the reason I became a teacher was because it was my quest."

Harry frowned. He remembered Lupin mentioning that now. "You mean the quest betas have to go on before they can accept their place in the pack?"

"Correct. My alpha held a competition a few years ago to see who would become the third beta of his pack."

"Three betas?" Harry gaped. "The pack is that large?"

"It is. My alpha is very strong." Lupin looked pleased then. "I won the competition and so I was sent away for a year to go on my quest. I'm only grateful that there was a position here at Hogwarts since the old Defense professor retired at the end of the last year."

Harry wrinkled his nose. He hadn't been that fond of old Professor Blishwick. "But now your quest is over?"

"Now I have to go back and become a beta for my pack." Lupin kneeled down so that he and Harry were almost the same height. "I loved teaching here, and teaching you, Harry. Whoever the headmaster hires to become the Defense professor after me, I want you to continue working as hard as you have been."

"Will I ever see you again, Professor?" Harry asked softly.

Lupin's eyes seemed to shine a golden-amber color. "I imagine we will," he said back. "Not for many years, but we will indeed." He stood, ruffling Harry's messy black hair. "And I'm not your professor anymore. Call me Remus."

Harry blushed, but he was out of things to say and soon enough Lupin, or Remus rather, was on his way back to his pack and Harry on his way back to the orphanage for a boring summer before his fourth year.

-o-

The old war was a dark and dangerous time for the British wizarding world. The seeds of discrimination that had sprung after Grindlewald's terrorism had blossomed into full-blown conflict. Light and Dark witches and wizards began fighting on the streets. Anyone with creature blood went into hiding to avoid the bigoted some who hunted them. The vampire clans and werewolf packs strengthened their alliances with each other and with other magical creatures in a bid to prevent too much loss.

The war lasted years, bringing many casualties on all sides, until finally a peace agreement was created and signed by Albus Dumbledore and Tom Marvolo Riddle. Under the agreement, Dumbledore was allowed to remain Headmaster of Hogwarts and Riddle kept his seat as the Minister of Magic.

Things changed, though. The subject used to be known as Defense Against the Dark Arts became just Defense. The ghost that used to teach History was banished and replaced by a Grey wizard who was watched carefully for bias as he retold ancient and recent history. Sixth and seventh years were allowed to chose between learning the Dark Arts or the Light Arts, or the now popular combination that had been named the Grey Arts. Muggle Studies remained, but a mandatory Wizarding Studies was put in place for all muggleborn and muggle-raised students.

Harry's parents were just another set of casualties from the old war. Minister Riddle had funded and opened Riddle's Home as a good-will gesture that Dumbledore had heartily approved of. All magical children orphaned by the war were placed in the home if no immediate  _magical_ family was able to take them. There were three others in Harry's year at Hogwarts from Riddle's Home and many more in the years above and below him.

Things changed for magical creatures, as well. The vampire clans and werewolf packs, especially, were able to win the most political clout and used it to further their positions in the wizarding world. Discrimination wasn't completely done away with, but it wasn't as common as it used to be.

The war ended on Halloween, a few months after Harry had turned one-year-old, and he didn't remember life before the peace agreement. He'd grown up knowing werewolves and vampires and centaurs and countless others had once been discriminated against, but like most in his generation all he'd known was respect for them and their unique power. He'd been especially interested in werewolves from the beginning, but ever since he'd met Remus, that respect had turned into something that bordered on an obsession with them… but that wouldn't matter as much for thirteen-year-old Harry.

It would matter a lot for seventeen-year-old Harry. But on the eve of his graduation from Hogwarts, he didn't quite know it yet.

-o-

"How do you think you did, Harry?"

Harry looked over at his fellow Hufflepuff. "Pretty good, I think. That last question on the History exam might have failed me, though."

Ernie winced and nodded. "Agreed. Still can't believe you took seven NEWTS. Only Granger did more that you."

Harry thought about the bushy-haired Ravenclaw who'd been top of their class since first year. The only thing that stopped the purebloods from hating her was how she'd aced Wizarding Studies too. Harry had never had to take the class because he'd grown up in the wizarding world like the others at the orphanage, but he'd heard all about how hard that class was.

"She'll probably get all Os or Es," Harry said. "I'm just hoping to pass at least five of mine."

Ernie nodded. He headed out the portrait and began to walk toward the Great Hall for the end-of-year feast. Harry followed him. "Which ones are you most confident about?"

"Defense," Harry said immediately.

Ernie rolled his eyes. "I know that. Seriously, everyone knows how good you are at Defense. Even Malfoy asks your advice, and you know his dad was a general for the Dark side during the old war."

Harry shrugged. He liked Professor Bones well enough. She was a retired auror and for all she'd fought for the Light, she wasn't biased. She wasn't nearly as good as Remus had been for Harry's third year, but she was better than Professor Blishwick had been.

"Um, I think I did pretty good at Transfiguration and Grey Arts." Harry scratched his chin. "I probably failed History, like I said, and I'm not too confident about my Charms grade either. Potions was maybe an E."

Ernie wrinkled his nose. "Professor Slughorn is the worst. Always pandering to his favorites."

Harry laughed. That was very true. Slughorn had always completely ignored him, as he had with all the other orphans, but he supposedly invited all the children with powerful connections from both the Light and the Dark to his Slug Club. "Yeah, but I like making potions. Anyway, Slughorn's retiring soon, I think."

"Not that it matters for us, since we're graduating," Ernie said. "What else did you do? Magical Creatures, right?"

Harry nodded. Care of Non-Humanoid Magical Creatures had been a fun class. Hagrid, the half-giant professor, was a bit eccentric but Harry didn't mind. He'd always been a bit fascinated with all sorts of magical creatures, though the intelligent, usually humanoid ones were only talked about in History or Defense. He wished there'd been a separate class just for them, but Magical Creatures had been fun in it of itself. He'd learned how to approach unicorns and dragons and all sorts of animals. The seventh year NEWTS class had only had three people in it, so they'd gone on a lot of cool field trips. "I think I did well in that one," he admitted.

They arrived at the Great Hall and sat down at the unofficial seventh year section of the Hufflepuff table. Harry looked over the crowd of students. He'd miss Hogwarts, but he was excited to go on in the world. He'd been of-age for almost a year, after all. He thought he was ready.

"Hey guys," Justin said as he sat down across from Harry and Ernie.

They greeted their fellow housemate just as Dumbledore stood and began his end-of-year announcements.

Harry listened, smiling as the headmaster congratulated the graduating seventh years. The Slytherins had won the Quidditch Cup that year and Harry clapped for them as Dumbledore presented the trophy to the captain of the team, Draco Malfoy. Harry loved flying himself, but while he liked watching quidditch, he'd never been a big fan of playing it. He preferred his flying as a leisurely activity, not a sport. Justin had always said he would have been a great seeker if he'd tried out for the team, but Harry usually had just shrugged him off and laughed.

"And finally, the House Cup."

Harry held his breath. He looked over at the Ravenclaw table. Hermione Granger met his gaze. They'd led their houses in a neck-and-neck tie for most of the year. Hannah Abbot was Head Girl and Theodore Nott was Head Boy, but everyone knew the academic leaders of Hogwarts were Hermione and Harry.

"In fourth place, with two-hundred and sixty points, comes Gryffindor house," Dumbledore said. "In third place, with two-hundred and ninety eight points, is Slytherin."

There was scattered clapping, but everyone waited to see who would win between the two center tables.

"In second place, with three hundred and fifteen points…" Harry held his breath. "Is Ravenclaw."

Harry turned to Ernie and Justin, grinning. They grinned back as Dumbledore continued. "Which leaves Hufflepuff, with three hundred and twenty points, for the first time in over a decade, the winners of the Hogwarts House Cup."

Harry cheered loudly along with the rest of his house. The banners along the Great Hall turned into yellow and black, showcasing the Hufflepuff badger. Up at the head table, Professor Sprout clapped excitedly, her hat almost falling off her head. Flitwick shook his head as McGonagall patted him on the shoulder.

"What a way to end it all, huh," Ernie said, still grinning.

"Yeah," Harry said back. And then softer, "What an end indeed."

-o-

Harry sat on his trunk, waiting with the rest of the students for the train to arrive so they could load up on it. Hedwig, his beautiful snowy owl, sat in her cage next to Harry. Harry smiled at her. "We'll find a new place to live soon, Hedwig," he said. "A nice little apartment for the both of us."

Hedwig hooted softly. Ernie had remarked several times that his owl familiar was quite a bit smarter than most. Harry attributed that to the long nights he'd spent talking to her at the orphanage. His parents had been well off and had left him a suitable trust fund. He'd used some of that money to buy Hedwig the minute he'd gotten his Hogwarts letter.

The trust fund wouldn't last him forever, though. It was already almost empty after seven years of the Hogwarts tuition and school supplies. He'd be using the last of it to put a down payment on an apartment, but he'd need to get a job soon. Unfortunately, the old Potter home at Godric's Hallow had been burned down in the old war and most of his dad's fortune had been used to fund the Light side so the trust fund had been all he'd had.

He had it better than most of the other orphans, at least. There was a scholarship to send those students to Hogwarts and get what they needed, but it was often a bit less than Harry had been able to afford and none of them would have any help once they graduated. He was only grateful his mom had had the foresight to set that trust money aside for him on the off chance that something would happen to her and his dad.

"Sad about leaving, Potter?"

Harry looked up to see Draco Malfoy walk up to him. "I thought we agreed to call each other by our first names, Draco."

Draco snorted. "Of course. Harry."

Harry smiled. "To answer your question, yeah a bit sad. Hogwarts was my true home, you know. The orphanage is fine, but it's not really a home for all that it's named such."

Draco nodded. Harry knew the boy likely didn't truly understand. He had both his parents and the Malfoy wealth. He'd never wanted for anything, including companionship, but still Draco was friendly enough with him not to mention that.

"What are you planning on doing next?" Harry asked, curious.

"My father secured me a position at the Ministry," Draco said. "It's a starter position in the Department of Public Affairs, but I'll work my way up quick enough."

"I'm sure you will. You know the Minister personally, don't you?"

Draco smirked. "He's been over for dinner," he said easily.

"Such a Slytherin answer," Harry teased.

Draco sniffed, but it was good-natured. He hadn't liked Harry at first, especially since Draco had been the top of Defense until their third year, but they'd grown friendly after Bones assigned them as partners in their sixth year and that friendship had only strengthened when they'd been two of the ten students in the NEWTS Defense class.

Of course, Draco had taken Dark Arts, not Grey Arts, or Harry might have been able to work even closer with him. He didn't mind though. Just this level of friendliness was enough for his purposes.

After all, the hat had stalled on his head, going back and forth between his sly mind and his dedicated work ethic. It eventually put him in Hufflepuff, but it had warned Harry not to let go of his Slytherin side. And Harry hadn't. For all Draco might think him just another friendly Hufflepuff, Harry had done all he could to earn the Malfoy's favorable feelings. Everyone knew Draco Malfoy was going places and Harry wanted to be remembered by him if he ever needed Draco's good word to help him out.

"And you?" Draco asked. "Got a job yet?"

Harry shook his head. "I've got an interview with the Greyback pack, though," he admitted. "They need another ambassador to go-between them and the Ministry."

It was a dream job for him if he got it. He'd owled Remus about it earlier that year and had been delighted when the beta werewolf had not only remembered him, but also put in the word to his alpha to allow him the interview.

Draco's eyes sharpened. "Fenrir Greyback is a very powerful alpha," he murmured. "Unofficially, they say his pack is the strongest in Great Britain."

"They do, don't they?" Harry said.

Draco studied him for a moment. Harry thought that maybe this was the moment Draco finally realized Harry wasn't just another good-natured Hufflepuff.

Draco blinked and then his mouth curled upward into a pleased smile. The train took that moment to arrive, but they ignored it. Draco held out a hand and Harry grasped it firmly.

"You'll keep in touch, won't you Harry?" Draco said.

"Of course," Harry agreed. "As you will."

"Of course."

Draco let go and with one last nod, went to go find the other graduated Slytherins. Harry grabbed his trunk and Hedwig's cage. He'd cast a featherweight charm on the trunk, so it wasn't hard to get it on the train. He felt someone fall into step with him as he searched for the compartment his Hufflepuff friends had likely already grabbed.

"Granger," Harry greeted.

"Potter," Granger said back. "I wanted to congratulate you."

"It was close," Harry said. "If it makes you feel better, I have no doubt you'll be the top individual of our year once the NEWTS scores arrive."

Granger smiled. Harry spotted his friends through the compartment on his left and stopped. Granger stopped with him. She held out a hand. "It was good," she said, "to have competition. I don't think I would have pushed myself quite as hard as I did if you hadn't been right behind me."

Harry took hold of Granger's hand and kissed the air over it as was proper wizarding protocol. He straightened. "I highly doubt that. You're a brilliant witch and you've proved it over these past seven years."

Granger blinked and then her smile brightened. "Thanks." She blushed a bit as he dropped her hand. "I actually got a job with the Department of Muggle Management waiting. The department head was really impressed with my credentials and since I'm muggleborn, she thinks I'll be a good candidate for an eventual diplomat."

"You will be," Harry said. "That sounds like a great job for you."

"I just wanted to let you know," Granger said. "If you ever need any help with muggles, or maybe with other parts of the Ministry. I won't have much sway at the beginning, but I know how smart you are. I won't forget."

It was no where near as subtle as Draco had been, but then Granger was a Ravenclaw and had a number of Gryffindor qualities everyone knew about. Harry would have been very surprised to find subtle from her, though she'd have to learn it if she wanted to be a successful diplomat. "Thanks, Hermione," he said.

Granger, or Hermione as it were, blushed again. "Right. I… I'll see you around, I suppose, Harry."

Harry nodded and Hermione left. He was still smiling as he opened the compartment door and found a seat next to Justin.

-o-

A few days after he'd said a hard goodbye to Ernie and Justin at Platform 9 and 3/4, Harry stood in front of the mirror in his room at the Leaky Cauldron. He hadn't looked too hard for an apartment yet, since he didn't want to make a decision until he knew if he'd gotten the job with the Greyback pack. If he did, he'd probably have a higher income then if he had to find some temporary job in one of the shops at Diagon Alley.

"You look quite dashing," the mirror told him as Harry tried in vein to flatten his hair. "Appearing ravished is in this season, I here."

"Thanks," Harry muttered. He wore a nice set of emerald and black robes. His glasses were thin-wired and only a few years old, so they were fine. He'd brushed his teeth several times, mindful about the heightened sense of smell werewolves had. He didn't want to start of the interview by putting off whoever was going to be talking to him with the smell of his breakfast.

Harry left the small bathroom and headed back to the dresser. Hedwig sat on her perch. He scratched her behind one wing for a moment until he felt calmer. "Okay," he said. "I can do this. Wish me luck, Hedwig."

Hedwig nibbled his finger and Harry smiled at her. He pulled back, straightened his robes, checked his untamable hair one last time, and then headed downstairs. He couldn't apparate inside the Leaky Cauldron, but was just a quick walk to Diagon Alley and from there he apparated to the meeting spot just outside Greyback's pack territory.

Harry blinked, momentarily disoriented after the apparition. When he had his wits about him, he looked around. There was a tent set up in front of him. He'd been given the apparition coordinates by Remus, so he hadn't ever been here before—but supposedly the tent was a permanent fixture for members of the Greyback pack to meet with anyone their alpha didn't trust enough to let inside the territory.

"So this is the little wizard Remus is so smitten with," a voice said from behind Harry.

Harry turned to stare at the redhead who'd spoken. He looked several years older than Harry, though he could honestly be anywhere from only a couple years to several decades older. Werewolves aged much slower than even wizards, who already aged slower than muggles. The werewolf, for Harry had to assume he was, wore his red hair long and tied with a simple leather thong. He had on brown leather trousers and a simple vest that showed off his strong, and freckled, arms.

"I'm not smitten," another voice, this one Harry recognized said. Harry turned again to see Remus come out of the tent. He didn't look a day older than the last time Harry had seen him, though it had been four years ago. "I do already have a mate, Fabian."

The werewolf, Fabian, walked up to Remus with a grin. "And my brother gives you all sorts of trouble, doesn't he?"

Remus sighed. He looked at Harry and his exasperated expression morphed into genuine pleasure. "It's good to see you again, Harry. You've grown."

"People do that when they're teenagers," Harry said, smiling. "It's good to see you too, Remus. I wasn't expecting you to be the one to meet me."

"I'm not, really," Remus said. "I just came to make sure someone was here. The one who'll interview you got caught up in some last minute business."

"I don't mind," Harry said.

Remus shrugged. "Good thing I was here. I wouldn't leave you alone with Fabian even if you were a pack member. He's liable to fill your head with lies."

"Hey!" Fabian said, though Harry could tell it was only mock outrage. "I'm a perfectly decent werewolf."

"Of course you are," Remus said easily. "But I still won't be leaving you alone with Harry."

Fabian pouted and it was outrageous enough that Harry had to hide a laugh behind his hand. Fabian obviously caught it anyway, for he turned his amber eyes in Harry's direction and winked. Remus sighed again.

"Come, Harry," he said. "We can wait inside."

Harry followed Remus and Fabian into the tent. Like most wizarding tents, it was much larger on the inside then it looked on the outside. The flap opened up to a sort of parlor area perfect for diplomatic talks. Harry waited until Remus had found a seat on one of the burgundy armchairs and until Fabian had sprawled across the brown loveseat, before he sat down on a black armchair across from them. It put his back toward the tent opening, but then that was probably the point.

"How were your remaining four years at Hogwarts?" Remus asked.

"Good," Harry said. "Amelia Bones took over for you."

Remus nodded. "I heard. She was a good auror, once upon a time."

"She was a good teacher, too. Not as good as you, but still good."

"I'm glad."

Harry shifted, glancing at Fabian before turning his gaze back to Remus. "How is being a beta for your pack?"

Remus smiled. "I find it suits me well."

Harry smiled back. "I'm not surprised. You were always good at wrangling students and making them listen to and follow your instructions. I can't imagine it's that different with the gammas of your pack."

Remus and Fabian both stared, before Fabian started to laugh. "He's got you figured,  _Professor_ ," Fabian said. "Remus is the easiest of our betas to talk to, I'll give you that, but when he gets mad… no one wants to be in his path of destruction."

Harry couldn't imagine the mild-mannered ex-professor getting angry, but perhaps that was the point.

Remus snorted. "If your twin wasn't my mate, Fabian…."

Fabian grinned. "Remus lets me get away with a lot because if he punishes me, then Gideon looks at him with his wide eyes, all silently sad and disapproving."

"Don't push your luck," Remus said, just the hint of a growl in his voice.

Fabian closed his mouth, but he was still smiling so Harry supposed the threat wasn't that bad. He was interested in learning more about Remus' mate, though.

"Were you mated to Gideon while you were teaching at Hogwarts?"

Remus shook his head. "No. I was courting him before I left, but Gideon has always been a very strong submissive. It wasn't until I was a beta for the pack that he submitted to me."

"Oh." Harry felt excitement swirl in his gut at the information. For all that werewolves were a relatively common part of wizarding society, not much was known about their inner politics. He knew there were four ranks for the werewolves: alphas, betas, gammas, and omegas. And he knew there were two types: dominants and submissives.

Ranks, he knew, were changeable. Omegas were wolves that had no pack, the lowest of low in werewolf society. Alphas, on the other hand, led a pack. The stronger the alpha, the larger a pack they could run. Betas were chosen from the gammas of the pack to help the alpha lead. Most packs only had one beta, but larger packs needed more to keep order. Harry had heard word of the Greyback pack having four betas, the fourth being added just a year before. Four betas meant somewhere around one hundred wolves, which was almost unheard of.

Harry had researched endlessly after Remus had left Hogwarts and he knew as much as a non-wolf could know about the ranking system, but what he could never find much information on was dominants versus submissives. He knew it was a born thing—when a wolf was born or turned then other wolves could tell straight off what category the wolf fell into. But that was basically all he knew about it.

Apparently, submissives had some measure of control over who mated them, if what Remus was suggesting was true for all packs and situations. Gideon was a strong submissive, so he'd… held off the dominants perhaps? Either way, he hadn't accepted Remus until he'd become a beta, and therefore one of the strongest members of the pack. It was really interesting.

Harry hoped he'd have the chance to learn more. That would depend entirely on if he got this job, though.

"So who's interviewing me?" Harry asked.

"I am."

Harry jumped. He hadn't heard the other wolf come in. He stood from his chair as the two other wolves did. They each bowed, Fabian lower than Remus but the fact that Remus bowed at all meant that the new werewolf could only be one person.

Harry turned with wide eyes to stare at Fenrir Greyback, the alpha of the largest pack in Great Britain. Fenrir had shoulder-length silver hair and dark blue eyes. He was large—easily the largest person Harry had seen expect Hagrid—with defined muscles highlighted by his vest and leather pants. Apparently it was the pack outfit, for all three wolves wore the same thing and without much discernable difference based upon their ranks.

Then again, Harry supposed they didn't need any gold trim to tell who the alpha was. Fenrir radiated dominance that even Harry, who wasn't a werewolf, could feel. He quickly dropped his gaze and bowed low.

"Alpha Greyback," he greeted.

Fenrir stepped forward, right into Harry's space. Harry let out a little gasp of surprise as the wolf's strong fingers grasped his chin and lifted it. He met Fenrir's blue eyes. Fenrir seemed to stare straight into his soul and he shivered at the sensation of being bare before him. He couldn't hide anything, all his thoughts and emotions seemed so close to the surface of his eyes that he couldn't imagine Fenrir wasn't reading all of them.

Fenrir let him go. Harry only remained standing through sheer willpower. He felt intoxicated. Fenrir continued to watch him, but it wasn't quite as hard.

The alpha let out a ragged breath and it was like the spell had been broken. Harry came back to himself in time to see Fenrir turn to Remus. "You knew," he said.

"I only suspected, Alpha," Remus said. Harry noticed that his gaze rested about Fenrir's chin, whilst Fabian's was all the way down to Fenrir's feet. Bare feet, Harry realized off-handedly. Just like Remus' and Fabian's.

"A strong suspicion, I'm sure," Fenrir said. "If you had deliberately hid it from me, I would have punished you, Remus. But I know now why you argued so strongly for him to be brought here." There was a heavy pause. "I thank you for it."

Remus seemed to relax. His gaze rose to Fenrir's eyes. "I only wish for your happiness, Fenrir."

Harry looked back and forth between the two werewolves. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he had a feeling that something big had just happened.

Fenrir nodded abruptly. "Then you'll stay and explain it to him." He turned, but seemed to hesitate before actually leaving. He looked back at Harry. "Remus will give you two choices. Don't be pressured into either one. I won't be angry."

"I think that's a lie," Harry said, before his brain caught up with his mouth. He closed it and flushed.

Fenrir just laughed though. He walked back into Harry's space and ran a calloused thumb over Harry's bottom lip. "Yes," he said. "I suppose it is. I certainly have a preference, but I would never take someone unwilling. Not into my pack and not into my bed."

Harry was even more confused than ever, though his Slytherin side was working hard to piece things together. He said nothing as Fenrir pulled himself away and left the tent without another backward look.

The silence hung in the air for a long moment, until Fabian let out a low hiss. "Merlin's beard," he said. "He's been searching for decades, Remus."

"I know very well," Remus said. "Be silent or leave, Fabian. Let's not confuse Harry any more than he already is."

Fabian obediently closed his mouth. Remus sat back down and Fabian and Harry both followed suit.

Harry met Remus' gaze. He felt none of the same need to drop his eyes as he had for Fenrir. Remus was a dominant wolf and a strong one, but his power had nothing next to Fenrir's and beside, Harry wanted answers.

Remus nodded, seeming pleased. "Had we found you when you were younger, Harry, things would have perhaps been easier. We could have turned you and brought you into the pack as a child and you would already know what I'm going to tell you."

"I was young, though," Harry said. "When I first met you, I was only thirteen."

"Yes, but you were at Hogwarts. Had this happened earlier, you never would have gone to Hogwarts. As it was, I knew it would be best to wait until you'd graduated. I had planned on finding some way to bring you here, so I was pleased when you contacted me."

"So what exactly just happened?"

Remus looked at Fabian, and then back at Harry. "There's no such thing as a destined mate, however most wolves find some who pulls at them stronger than others. It's a matter of biology, truly. When I met you, I could smell that you were compatible with our alpha and… well Fenrir hasn't found one compatible with him ever."

Harry had suspected something along those lines, though he honestly hadn't wanted to contemplate the implications. Not yet. "Is that rare?"

Remus nodded. "Very rare. I'm compatible with Gideon, and vice versa, but there are several other submissives in our pack that I'm compatible with as well, if not quite to the same degree. I even met a few wizards and witches and I was compatible with, but if a wolf has a choice they almost always chose someone compatible who is already a wolf."

"Except Fenrir has never found a wolf he's compatible with."

"Or a witch or wizard. He's been alive many years, Harry, and he's never found anyone who was even mildly compatible with him. It's been the cause of some concern within the pack for a long time."

"I can imagine." How lonely that must be, to be surrounded by so many submissive wolves and find none of them right. Harry ached briefly imagining all the years Fenrir spent searching.

But… he and Fenrir were compatible. He took an unsteady breath. "How compatible are we?"

"Very," Fabian said. Remus didn't even glare at him. "I could smell it the minute he entered the tent. I didn't before… I mean I wasn't really looking, but when you two were together I could. Not even my brother and Remus smelled that compatible before they mated."

"You smell like you're already mates," Remus murmured. "It's unheard of."

Harry's heart skipped a beat. "But we're not."

"No," Remus agreed. "You're not mates. And you don't ever have to be mates. Like our alpha said, it is your choice, Harry."

"What choice is it exactly?"

Remus sighed. "If you agree, then you'll be bitten and turned. Likely on the next full moon, in seven days. You'd come to live with the pack then and Fenrir would officially initiate a courtship."

"So we wouldn't be mates immediately?"

"No. It is a submissive's right to choose their mate. It's been that way for hundreds of years. You're the first our alpha has found compatible and for that reason alone I imagine you'd be a very strong submissive wolf. Even if he is our alpha, I don't think he'd be the only one courting you. You'd have options."

Harry frowned. "What if I get turned and I'm not submissive?"

Fabian snorted. Harry turned to him and he flushed. "It's very unlikely," he said. "We can sometimes tell even with wizards. You're a submissive, alright."

Harry wondered to be insulted by that or not. He settled with letting it go. "And my other choice?"

"To leave. Return to your life in the wizarding world." Remus frowned. "I would love to offer you the position as the ambassador you originally came here for, but frankly it would be unfair to our alpha. If he had to smell you so often knowing you'd refused to be turned and give him a chance to court you...."

Harry frowned. "That job never was open to me, was it? If I accept, I'll stay in the pack, and if I don't I won't be able to be anywhere near the pack. You lured me here under false pretenses."

Remus had the grace to look guilty. "I am sorry, Harry. If it makes you feel better, your credentials are very good. If you don't accept a place in our pack, I can recommend you to others that you can apply to be an ambassador for."

That did make him feel better, but he had dreamed of being the ambassador for the Greyback pack. Any other would feel so much like stepping down. And yet… and yet here he was being offered the chance to become a werewolf. Not just an ambassador and therefore the closest a wizard could ever get to a pack… but an actual member of the pack.

Harry felt his stomach roll, not in queasiness but in excitement. Why was he even deliberating? He'd been obsessed with werewolves since he'd heard of their existence and that obsession had only grown as he and Remus had become close. Maybe Remus had paid so much attention to him because he'd smelled his compatibility to Fenrir… but then Harry and countless others had paid Draco Malfoy so much attention because of his father's position in the Ministry.

Remus hadn't lied when he'd said Harry was a Defense prodigy, Professor Bones had confirmed it for the four years he'd been under her tutelage. He wasn't upset with Remus about that. He wasn't even upset about being lured into meeting Fenrir. The man had called to him, but Harry wasn't one to roll over just because of a quirk of biology.

That didn't mean he wouldn't take this chance to grab onto something he'd been dreaming about since he was a child.

"I'll do it," Harry said. "I'll become a member of your pack." He paused. "Can I bring my owl?"

"Of course," Remus said. "We don't live in the woods. We have a manor house. We stay in our human form most of the time and truly aren't that different from wizards. We might not go to Hogwarts, but our young are taught how to use their magic well enough."

Harry blinked. Yet another thing he hadn't known about werewolves. He was thrilled with the opportunity to learn more. To be a part of them.

Because pack… pack was family, wasn't it? And family was something Harry hadn't had since he was a baby.

"Fabian, go run and tell Fenrir," Remus ordered. Fabian jumped up. He shifted right before Harry's eyes. It was seamless, like McGonagall turning into her cat animagus form. He'd known that, for most werewolves, the shift could come at any time. They felt a stronger pull the night of a full moon, but most of the time they lived basically as wolf animagi.

Still, knowing and seeing were two different things. He watched Fabian run out of the tent on four legs.

"Fenrir didn't stay because he didn't want to influence you," Remus explained. "And he won't be the one to turn you either. I don't know who will."

"Can it be you?"

Remus smiled softly. "I'd be honored. I'll bring it up with Fenrir." He took a deep breath. "You'll need to go and settle your affairs. Most pack members don't have anyone outside of the pack, but we have some who came to us late and some that have simply made friends among wizards. Once you're settled into the pack, I can't imagine Fenrir would refuse allowing you to visit your friends and you'll definitely be able to correspond with them."

"I'm glad," Harry said, though he know deep inside himself that he would have given all that up to be a werewolf. Obsessions were rarely reasonable and Harry tried to think with his head, not his heart. He was happy Remus had brought it up.

"There's a mandatory waiting period of a month after first turning before anyone is allowed to start courting a submissive," Remus told him. "In that time, I or someone will be able to explain everything you need to know about the courtship process. You don't have to feel anxious about that. You can hold off all the wolves who court you for as long as you like, basically. You don't ever have to chose any of them if you don't want to."

"I probably will," Harry said with a small blush. "I don't want to live my life lonely, but I… I don't want to accept your alpha just because we're compatible."

"And he won't expect it of you," Remus said. "He told you, he doesn't accept the unwilling into his pack or his bed and he means it. No one will be upset if you chose someone else. It's exciting to find someone Fenrir is compatible with, but that only proves that they exist. There were a lot that were giving up hope that anyone was out there that could be, so your presence will ease a lot of worries even if you choose someone else."

"Good to know."

Remus reached forward and clasped Harry by the shoulder. "I am happy you chose to join us, but if you change your mind in the next seven days… well don't feel you have to stick with this decision. It's a permanent once after the next full moon, after all." He took a deep breath. "You should go now. I'll owl you specifics."

Harry nodded. He stood and turned to go, but Remus' last words stopped him.

"Fenrir is a tough wolf. He's rough around the edges and he's done some things, especially during the old war, that might frighten you. But despite that, he's a good alpha. There's a reason so many of us follow him, and it's not just because of how strong he is."

Harry put a hand on the flap of the tent. He didn't look back at Remus, but he nodded to show he'd heard him.

Those words echoed inside him as he left and apparated back to Diagon Alley.


	2. Chapter 2

Remus had called it a manor, but it was really more like a small castle. Not as big as Hogwarts, but certainly large enough to fit the hundred or so that had to be in Fenrir's pack. It was nestled up against one of the large Scottish plateaus with a massive untamed forest stretching from its base and out for hundreds of acres. In short, it was the perfect home for a big werewolf pack. Harry loved it immediately.

"Ready?" Remus asked as they stopped right outside the front gate.

"Yes," Harry said, his voice steady and his heart certain.

Remus placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and led him inside the manor. There was a redhead in the front courtyard. He looked like Fabian, but there was a marketable difference in the way he held himself, and the way he smiled at Remus. This had to be Remus's mate.

"Gideon," Remus greeted, confirming what Harry had already figured.

"Remus," Gideon replied, walking up and slotting himself against Remus's side. Remus kissed him briefly on the temple and wrapped his arm around Gideon's waist. Gideon turned to look at Harry then. "So, this is our newest pack member."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said. "I'm Harry Potter."

"I know," Gideon replied. "Merlin, the whole pack knows by now."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Fabian is a terrible gossip."

"Can you blame him? It's big news, after all."

Harry wasn't sure how he felt knowing the whole pack knew of his supposed compatibility with Fenrir before he even had a chance to meet anyone in it. He said nothing, though, and allowed Remus and Gideon to lead him into the castle halls.

"We don't have any portraits," Remus explained as they walked down the large stone passageways. "Most of our inner wolves are uncomfortable being constantly watched."

"Dominant wolves like Remus are especially antsy when stared at," Gideon said, twisting his head so he could look at Harry. "It's a threat to their dominance, or something."

Remus shrugged. "Regardless of the reason, Fenrir refuses to allow any moving pictures or tapestries on the walls even if it does make the place look a little more barren."

"I think it's fine," Harry said honestly. There was a certain beauty to the mismatched stone of the castle walls. He'd never really like how crowded Hogwarts was with portraits anyway. Too many eyes, too many gossiping mouths.

They took a left and Harry saw a large dining hall through an open set of double doors. There were a dozen round tables set up, each with at least eight chairs. Along the back wall was a buffet table full of food. As Harry watched, a couple teenagers grabbed plates and began sliding down the line to grab at whatever caught their eye.

"This is the dining area," Remus said. "We don't really have set meal times here. Werewolves burn a lot more energy then even wizards do, so the place is always stocked with fresh food and you never see less than a dozen of us eating at any given time."

"Even in the middle of the night," Gideon added.

"What if Fenrir or you or one of the other betas needs to make an announcement to the pack?" Harry asked. That was one of the reasons for the set dinner time at Hogwarts, after all, so that the Headmaster could address the whole school if needed.

Remus motioned for them to continue walking as he explained, "Then he calls for a pack meeting and we all congregate out back. There's a pond immediately behind the castle with a large grassy area before it becomes wooded and that's where we all meet. Fenrir can call us there for an emergency, but we always meet there before the full moon, so that's usually when news gets shared."

Harry nodded, though Remus and Gideon were walking slightly in front of him and probably couldn't see it. "So there's one tonight, right? A meeting before the full moon?"

"Yes."

Harry took a fortifying breath. "And then you'll bite me?"

"Yes."

They reached a large staircase. Unlike the ones at Hogwarts, this one didn't seem to move at all. Harry focused on climbing the steps instead of the burning questions still bottled inside of him. He wondered if the werewolves could hear his rapidly beating heart.

"This will be your room," Gideon said as they reached the third door on the right. "I had our house elves put the stuff you had in here already."

"Cool," Harry murmured.

Remus opened the door and motioned Harry inside. Harry stepped into the room. It was half the size of the Hufflepuff boy's dorm, but there was only one bed. It wasn't a four-poster, but that was fine. His trunk was at the base of it. On the other end of the room was a large open window. Hedwig's perch stood next to it and her cage was on top of the dresser.

"I have it all to myself?" Harry asked.

"You do," Remus said. "Mates and family units share suites and we have a fair number of those which leaves plenty of small rooms like this one for singles. We did have to convert some of the original sitting rooms and parlors into bedrooms, but we didn't really need those anyway. There are a couple common areas were the pack hangs out, but we certainly didn't need as many as the castle once had."

"It bigger than I need," Harry tried to protest. "It's just me and Hedwig. I don't need this much open space."

Gideon detached himself from Remus's side and stepped into Harry's space. Harry wanted to feel threatened by the sudden proximity, but surprisingly he wasn't. "It's okay, Harry," the werewolf said. "This room was already empty. There aren't many rooms in the castle smaller than this unless you wanted us to stick you in a broom closet."

Harry flushed. He wasn't quite sure why or how, but he thought Gideon may have realized that he hadn't wanted to be a burden, or get special treatment. "Got it."

"The pack meeting will be in a couple hours. Would you like some time to yourself or would you like a tour of the rest of the castle?" Remus asked.

Harry considered it. He almost wanted the time. But then, if he sat in this room with only Hedwig for company, he'd end up stewing over things. He'd done enough of that. Besides, this castle was going to be his new home. He'd better get a start on memorizing it.

"I'll take the tour," he said and was happy to see Remus direct a pleased smile his way.

"Come on then." Gideon grabbed him by the hand. Harry tensed at the contact but allowed himself to be dragged out of the room and along the hallway.

-o-

"That's him, then," Ivo said, more of a statement than a question.

Fenrir didn't bother answering. He leaned against the sturdy wooden railing and looked down at the sitting room below. The inner balcony he and his first beta were on was three stories above the common area, but he'd never minded heights.

It had become a habit for him and his betas to meet and discuss pack matters while on that balcony. It allowed them a good view of the most popular indoor common area, but afforded them privacy to talk. The wards Ivo had added along the railings made it so none of the pack could hear what was going on in the balcony but the two of them could still hear the chatter below.

Currently, Remus and his mate were explaining the room to Harry Potter. Harry stood just barely in Fenrir's vision—he stayed close to the entrance way of the large room as if he felt he needed an escape route. There were only half-a-dozen pack members in the room at the moment. Most of the pack were taking advantage of the lovely weather and spending the day outside. The ones that were inside sat either piled up on the collection of cushions in the corner or curled up together on the love seats.

Fenrir wondered how the casual affection between pack members looked to Harry. It was hard to tell from his body language. He was certainly reserved, but he didn't shy away from Gideon when the submissive plastered himself to his side and began excitedly pointing out the various bookshelves lining the walls. Gideon and his brother were troublemakers, but they were  _smart_ troublemakers and it was obvious that Gideon had taken the initiative in treating Harry like he was already a fellow submissive pack member.

"Should I be worried?" Ivo asked.

Fenrir turned to his first beta, confused by the question. He had been under the impression that Ivo, like all of his betas, were thrilled that he'd found someone who  _called_ to him like Harry did.

Ivo's amusement thrummed through their pack bond. Their bond was the strongest that Fenrir had with any pack members because Ivo had been his first and his most loyal. Though Fenrir was usually cognizant of the emotional states of his pack members, no one could read him back the same way Ivo could—not even his other betas.

"What?" Fenrir asked.

"If you take this boy as your own, should I be worried? It's obvious Remus and his devious mate have already wormed their way into his good graces. Nothing to be done about it, Remus was the one to find him, but are you going to let that propel Remus into my spot? Should I be worried about being overthrown?"

Fenrir wanted to snort at the stupidity of the question, but despite Ivo's mocking tone, he could feel the real twinge of fear the other werewolf gave off. Still… "Careful. It sounds like you think I'd let some barely of-age pup decide pack matters just because he calls to me as a mate. You've more than earned your place and Remus has his, but his is beneath you as much as it's equal. Your jealousy is unnecessary."

Ivo dipped his head to acknowledge the mild reprimand. "Of course."

Fenrir considered saying more, something especially reassuring, but he'd never been the comforting type and Ivo knew that. Besides, their pack bond was more settled now, so he figured what he'd said was enough and left it at that. So he refocused his attention on the sitting room below him.

"He is pretty," Ivo said after a short pause. "Raven black hair and green eyes… he'll make a beautiful wolf."

"He will," Fenrir agreed. "Smart too, according to Remus. And powerful despite his age. He'll make a good addition to the pack even if he does reject me personally."

"It's never a bad idea to get new blood and new opinions," Ivo stated. "If he has the aptitude for it, I'm sure Amy will love to have him teach a couple classes to the pups. He's straight out of the Hogwarts experience and we need to get what useful information we can from him before the more extraneous of that knowledge fades."

Fenrir nodded. "Have a talk with Amy, then, but remember that he's being turned tonight and he'll be a submissive."

"Ah, yes, Amy won't be able to be alone with him for the first month and possibly not after if he rejects her presence as a potential mate. Hmm, I'll talk to Remus and see what he thinks. Perhaps one of the submissives Amy trusts as an instructor can make friends with him during his nesting period."

"I trust you to figure it out," Fenrir said. He didn't want to be seen having directly interfered with Harry's life in the pack. It was fine for Ivo and Remus—they were both mated after all—but despite being the alpha, Fenrir had to be careful not to overstep himself. Even if Harry was too naive to see the problems of it, other submissives in the pack would soon cry foul. They were all very protective of each other, which Fenrir certainly encouraged even if the more primal part of him just want to jump the thirty feet to the floor below and take Harry then and there.

But they were werewolves, not mindless beasts, and he could control himself. He would court Harry properly, would see how his own wolf reacted to Harry's, and with some luck he might finally cure the loneliness that plagued him even in the middle of his large pack. If not, well… he had renewed hope now. He'd just have to keep looking. He'd find his mate out there one day.

Fenrir shook himself. He'd wasted too much time. He had pack matters to attend to—the Department of Magical Creature Regulation was demanding another visit and as much as he wanted to tear their throats out for their impertinence, he could be diplomatic when he had to. He needed to talk with the two ambassadors he had employed and then perhaps spend a little time renewing his old alliance with Riddle.

So Fenrir went to turn and leave the balcony when Remus's words below caught his attention. The beta was explaining the balcony to Harry, which meant the teenager must have noticed the open space hanging above his head.

Fenrir looked down and his fingers folded over the balcony railing—steadying him. Harry looked straight up at him, bright green eyes piercing the distance.

The first time Fenrir laid eyes upon Harry Potter, it was like a silver arrow had just pierced his heart. Now, though, the shock of the calling had faded. In its place was a hum, loud and vicious, that told Fenrir to  _pay attention_. This wasn't an ordinary young man, a newly of-age teenager whose NEWT scores were still wet ink on a page. This was someone who could be the alpha submissive of his pack… and Fenrir wanted him like he'd wanted very little else in his life. The last time Fenrir had wanted so much, it had resulted in an unholy alliance between his pack and several others, some of the strongest vampire covens, and Minister Riddle. The last thing Fenrir had wanted was respect and he'd earned it with aplomb. Now, Fenrir wanted love. And he knew that it would be a harder battle to fight.

But then, the harder the challenge, the sweeter the reward. And the thought of Harry spread out on his bed was oh so sweet.

Fenrir met that sharp green gaze and let himself smile. After a moment, Harry looked away and even from this distance Fenrir could make out the red blush that spread over his cheeks and down his neck.

Oh so sweet indeed.

-o-

Harry stood on the outskirts of the clearing where the Greyback pack gathered. The pond was beautiful in the sunset—water reflecting the soft orange and purple of the sky. The pack members were also beautiful, though in a different way. Harry was fascinated watching them. So many—more people than his graduating class at Hogwarts definitely—and yet there didn't seem to be any confusion as they found their places on the grass. The various men, women, and children sat or laid next to each other. Some curled around each other and others tussled while they waited. The children all clustered in a group in the center, surrounded by a large ring of adults who kept an eye on them.

There was a small boulder—flat at the top like it had been cut with magic—near the pond. That's where Fenrir Greyback sat, and had been sitting since before Harry even had come out here with Remus and Gideon.

Both Remus and Gideon were up with Fenrir now. They had left him alone on the outskirts of the pack as they took their places by their alpha. The short blond Remus had introduced as Ivo Robles earlier stood directly to the right of the rock Fenrir sat on. He'd been the one up on the balcony with Fenrir earlier that afternoon—before Fenrir had left and Ivo had come down from the balcony to meet Harry properly. He was Fenrir's first beta and the constant almost mocking laughter Harry could see in Ivo's brown eyes made him nervous.

Behind Ivo was his mate, a woman of Japanese descent named Misaki. On Fenrir's left was his second beta, a dark-skinned woman named Erin Yaxley—the sister of one of Riddle's generals during the war. Her mate was a blond woman named Angie, though Harry had no idea if that was a nickname or not. Gideon hadn't had much time to tell him before Remus dragged him up to their positions. Remus stood on Ivo's right with Gideon behind him. On Erin's left was the fourth beta, the newest. His name was Caleb Parker, supposedly, and he—like Fenrir—was currently mateless.

Just as Harry was beginning to wonder when the meeting would get started, Fenrir sat up on the rock. Just that subtle change in posture was all it took for the pack to quiet down. Harry wondered if they were all observant or if the mythical bond between members of a werewolf pack was real. He'd know soon enough.

"I've only got a couple things to say tonight before the mother moon rises for us," Fenrir said. He didn't use a spell but his voice resonated across the clearing regardless. "Happy belated birthday to Tiffany." He nodded as a cheer went up.

Harry looked and saw a large teenage girl stand up and bow. She grinned as the pack cheered louder than sat back down.

"Yes yes," Fenrir called, getting their attention back on him. "Tiffany is now seventeen, as of last week, which means she'll get to run with the hunting group tonight instead of watching over the pups. After tonight, she'll officially be an adult with all the bells and whistles that come with it. Courting, mating, privilege trips out into the world without supervision, yadda yadda yadda."

Harry wondered if the information was for his benefit or if Fenrir was explaining it for the younger kids too. He wondered if he, too, will have to wait until the next full moon and run with the pack before being considered an adult werewolf. He didn't envision enjoying being placed with the pups until then.

"Secondly, we'll be welcoming a new member into our pack today. As all you gossips know by now, Harry Potter has agreed to be bitten tonight. Unless the bite kills him, he'll get a chance to run with us tonight and earn his rite of adulthood. Remus and Gideon are in charge of him for the night so if his new instincts take him too far and you notice something, they're the ones you need to notify." Fenrir waved his hand in Harry's direction.

Harry flushed as the weight of the entire pack's attention swiveled toward him. Fenrir didn't let the silence stretch on long, though, before he kept going.

"Finally, some of the border scouts have been reporting signs of a leprechaun infestation in our woods. Stay in groups tonight as much as you can and if you smell something, come get me or Ivo. Pups, don't let their shiny gold fool you, they're nasty little buggers when they want to be and I won't have anyone getting hurt. Clear?"

"Yes, Alpha!" the pack responded as one.

Harry licked his lips and curled his hands over his crossed knees. The sky was a deep dusk now. The moon would be rising soon.

The pack began to talk amongst themselves again. Remus and Gideon made their way back toward him and Harry scrambled to his feet.

"Ready, Harry?" Remus asked.

"Yes," Harry said. He took a deep breath. "Yes."

Remus looked at him as if he wasn't quite sure, but he nodded. "It might be scary, watching us transform, but you need to stay where you are. Sitting on the ground is better. Less of a threat."

"Are you going to want to attack me?"

"Not exactly, but my wolf certainly won't enjoy being loomed over. Displays of dominance have different consequences in wolf form. You'll understand when you shift."

"It's going to be painful, Harry, there's no way around it. Not for the first shift," Gideon said. "But it's also the most wonderful thing in the world when you settle and get a chance to explore the world. There's nothing quite like seeing things through a new set of eyes."

Harry smiled. "I believe you." He sat down on the ground with his knees folded under him. "Is it going to be soon?"

Remus and Gideon both turned to look at the horizon. The slightest glimmer of silver appeared on it.

"Yes," Gideon stated, and then he began to hunch over.

"You'll be fine," Remus said as the nails on his fingers lengthened. "We're here for you."

Despite their worries, Harry wasn't afraid watching them transform. He was fascinated. Their clothes didn't rip, instead it began to disappear as fur took its place. Almost like it did for animagi but slower. They became some form of wolf-human hybrid first—a wolf's snout but a human chest—and then the transformation continued until they were both down on four paws. Remus was a larger wolf than Gideon. He was beautiful, too, with grey fur streaked with a tan ruff. His golden eyes glowed like a cat's. Gideon was red-furred with white-tipped tail and patches of tan along his face and neck.

Gideon butted his head against Remus's side. Remus licked Gideon along the top of his head and then shook himself. He looked around before his gold eyes fixed on Harry. Harry's breath caught in his throat.

It was a strange combination of fear, anticipation, and excitement that coursed through Harry as Remus padded closer to him inch by inch. He wanted what was in front of him, wanted the power of the wolf, but he didn't want to lose who he used to be either.

And then Remus was on him and the choice was made. Large jaws opened over him and, somehow gently, clasped his left bicep.

Then Remus bit down and all Harry knew was pain. It wasn't even the pain of the bite, but the sensation of poison-magic-power-moonlight that spread through his body. He barely had a minute to try to process before his bones began to crunched. It was almost like the time he had to take Skele-Gro in his second year at Hogwarts, except across his entire body. It was too much sensation for him to pick out any one feeling, except burning pinpricks over his skin.

Then Harry looked up and the world was different.

-o-

Fenrir sat on his haunches and watched as the transformation took place in front of him. Ivo and Erin had already led the hunting party into the woods, but he couldn't join them until he greeted the newest pack member.

Ivo had been right—Harry was a beautiful wolf. Raven black fur just like his hair, and just as wild. He looked bigger than he was from it, tufts sticking out over his ears even. His eyes were gold, like all werewolves in this form, but Fenrir could see specks of green still in them. He got to his feet unsteadily, like a baby doe, and Fenrir found himself charmed by the sight.

Fenrir got to his own feet and walked over to the little group. Remus lay next to Gideon, watching the baby wolf figure out his own body. Fenrir knew that the dominant would be to his feet and ready the minute Harry looked like his instincts were about to take over negatively. There was a lot of inherent aggression in their wolves, regardless of dominance. Even submissives were capable of snapping and hurting themselves or others.

Oh, and Harry certainly was a submissive. Fenrir breathed in the sweet scent of him, the smell of healthy breed, of tempting pheromones. He wanted to bound up to the black wolf and mount him.

Harry looked up and saw him coming. The pupils of his golden eyes dilated, but not with lust. Instead, the young wolf growled—low and threatening. A challenge to Fenrir's power.

Fenrir roared back and took the remaining steps in a single leap. He was a massive wolf, silver-furred and huge. He crushed Harry under his weight and pressed his teeth to Harry's neck.

There was a few minutes waiting, silent and expectant. Remus and Gideon's bond to him thrummed with anticipation.

Harry finally relaxed and bared his neck. Fenrir dragged his teeth up the length of it and ended it with a soft lick to Harry's closest ear. Harry twitched and slowly licked Fenrir back, right under the chin as was proper.

Their pack bond, new and uncertain, flared to life. Fenrir felt Harry's confusion, his excitement, his eagerness. Harry was a member of his pack now… a beautiful new member who was sprawled under him… submissively looking up to him…  _his_ …

Harry growled and the bond shifted to anger and annoyance. Fenrir quickly got a hold of himself and backed off the smaller wolf. It was unseemly of him to thrust his arousal onto a new submissive wolf. He'd… he'd never lost control like that before.

Harry stood and watched him, silent now. Fenrir bowed his head, just enough to be apologetic without undermining the dominance he'd just won. He was still Harry's alpha, even if he wasn't a potential mate yet.

Huffing, Harry turned away and walked over to where Remus and Gideon laid. Gideon got his feet and greeted his fellow submissive. Fenrir watched them for long enough to be sure that Harry was going to get along fine with Gideon before he left.

He needed to run and hunt before he got himself in even more trouble. There was a reason werewolves tended to already be mated before they became alphas, because he know he'd hurt Harry's respect for him by accidentally pushing the boundaries because of his instincts. Fenrir hadn't thought it would be a problem, but he'd underestimated the strength of the  _call_. His wolf wanted Harry, wanted him badly, but submissives were given time to adjust for a reason. Harry had to have time to learn himself a wolf before he could parse through his instincts around unmated dominants.

Fenrir shook his head roughly. He'd made a small mistake, but not an unmanageable one. He'd just have to do better, next full moon, when Harry was officially open for courtship gestures. Until then, he'd watch Harry settle into the pack and make his plans. He wouldn't be the only dominant werewolf to do so, but Fenrir wasn't ever one to back down from a challenge—that was why he was the alpha of the strongest pack in Britain, after all.

Harry might choose someone else as a mate, might choose no one, but at the very least he wouldn't reject Fenrir until Fenrir had done everything in his power to make Harry see that they could be something glorious together.

Above him, the full silver moon gleamed in the black sky, overwhelming the light of the stars around it.

-o-

Harry woke the morning after the full moon on top of Gideon. He vaguely remembered running back with the other wolf, after a long evening of playing and learning to hunt. His memories as a wolf were jumbled—though not gone, just not quite where they were supposed to be. He closed his eyes tightly.

"Don't worry," Gideon murmured under him. "Give it time and it'll sort itself out. We'll take a few days before teaching you how to transform without the moon guiding you. It gets easier the more times you do it."

"We?" he didn't smell Remus nearby, though that was a strange thing… that he now thought he'd be able to recognize Remus's smell.

"Me and the other submissives." Gideon sat up and Harry tumbled into his lap. "You're in your nesting period now. It's what we call the month between the first adult transformation and the next full moon. No dominant can approach you during this month, not even mated ones like Remus, so the other submissives and I will help you."

"Why not?"

"It's too confusing. You don't know what your instincts are saying yet, not really." Gideon ruffled his hair and Harry nearly purred. It felt so nice to be touched, nice to feel the physical contact that mimicked the happy feeling he got around Gideon. "Like that. You don't even realize you're feeling the pack bond between us, all you know is that you're happy, but really I'm happy. You need time before you can keep your instincts and your feelings separate. It's too easy for a dominant to take advantage during this time so evolutionarily submissive wolves like us are designed to fight off  _any_ dominant who approaches us until we have it figured out. It's a pack rule that we give it the month, even if the figuring out doesn't take quite as long."

"I see." Harry sat up and looked around. They were in an unfamiliar sitting room. It was smaller than the one he'd been shown yesterday and there weren't any bookshelves, but plenty of pillows lined the floor.

"This is a submissive-only space. It's where we get a chance to complain about the dominants or talk about our problems or just hang out with each other. I'm sure others will come join us soon. Misaki and Angie and I will be in charge of your training, but it's good of you to meet and make friends with as many submissive pack members as you can. We're a unit, all of us, and we have each other's backs."

"Okay." Harry's head was spinning, but he liked that idea so he nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

"So are we." Gideon grinned. "You know, you're wolf is already a bit miffed with Fenrir. Not really anyone's fault. He had to create the pack bond with you last night even though in a normal circumstance he shouldn't have approached you before the month was out. But anyway, you reacted pretty badly after the bond formed. It was great, because it means he'll have to work extra hard to win your wolf side over after your nesting period is up."

"Why is that great?" Harry remembered what Gideon was talking about and a part of him, a rumbling part he didn't quite know, shifted in annoyance at the memory of Fenrir hovering over him.

"Because it's going to give other dominants more courage to approach you for courtship. And it means Fenrir knows you're not just going to roll over for him. You're going to have options and choices and it's going to be awesome."

"What Gideon is trying to say," another werewolf said as she entered the room. It was Misaki, the highest-ranking submissive of the pack. "Is that you are a very strong wolf, Harry. You controlled yourself a lot better last night than many new bitten wolves. And we're going to train you to be the kind of submissive that reminds dominants why the nesting period really exists. It's not for our sake, truly, it's for theirs. More than one dominant has died trying to force a submissive during their nesting period."

"You're going to train me to fight?"

"We're going to train you to win," Misaki said. "Perhaps physically, but mostly emotionally. One of the little secrets of submissives is that we control our instincts far better than our dominant counterparts. You are going to spend this month learning and by the time the next full moon comes around, Fenrir won't be able to pin you unless you want him to."

Harry looked between Misaki and Gideon. Slowly, he began to grin. "When do I start?"


	3. Chapter 3

It took Harry the entire first week of his nesting period to figure out the most basic tenants of his new instincts. He was constantly frustrated by the slowness of his progress, until Misaki told him that he was doing remarkably well.

"Is the annoyance yours, another pack member's, or your wolf's?" she asked.

Harry thought for a minute. "Mine."

"What is your wolf feeling?"

"Content," Harry said. The wolf inside of him—who was really him but also not him, who was an ally and a friend but also just another version of himself—was curled up in a metaphorical ball, happy to rest after a long day of being forced to transform in and out. His wolf instincts were settled in this submissive-only room and Harry knew it was a crutch. He knew that soon he'd have to go out into the rest of the manor and be in the presence of dominants even if they weren't allowed to approach him yet by pack law.

"And what do you feel from me through our pack bond?" Misaki asked.

Harry looked at her and searched for the warm thrum that connected them. "You're pleased with me." He flushed a little. "You… you like me more than you used to."

Misaki laughed gently and stepped forward to kiss his forehead. "I do. I like you more than I expected to, Harry. You really are doing so well. I normally wouldn't consider taking a new submissive wolf out of this room until at least the third week, but you'll be ready sooner than that."

Gideon stepped up then from where he'd been conversing with some submissive gammas of the pack. "Shouldn't we wait, though? Even if he's ready for it, the less time we dangle him out in front of the dominants before they're allowed to approach him, the less of a chance for someone to… make trouble."

"Funny, coming from you," Angie said from her spot on the nearby couch. She closed her book and stood to join their circle. "There is a possibility, which we all must acknowledge, that Harry here will become the alpha submissive of this pack. And if that's the case, then the rest of the pack needs to realize how innately strong he already is."

Harry looked between the three of them. "If I do want Fenrir, though I'm not sure I will, then I won't want to be a burden to him as a mate. I'm a lot younger than he is and a totally new werewolf to boot."

"So we need to show off that you've taken to your instincts as well as you have." Gideon smirked. "Well, in that case, I can have things set up for us to eat in the dining room tomorrow."

Misaki smirked back at him. "Perfect."

-o-

That night, Harry curled up in the large windowsill at the corner of the submissive's lounge. It was on the third-story, high enough up that the pack members on the grounds couldn't see into the room though they could see out. Harry pressed his cheek to the glass and stared up at the waning moon. It was a crescent now. In another week, it would be gone, and then it would start to fill again. He thought about that looming deadline—of what might happen the next time he ran with the pack.

He remembered more of his first experience now, but the memories were distant from him. He'd been energetic—a puppy in so many ways. He'd pounced on Gideon and played with Remus's tail and scurried after every sound and scent that caught his attention. He remembered Remus and sometimes Gideon redirecting him at several points, distracting him with play bowing or barking at him if he got too close to something he wasn't supposed to. They'd been patient with him, but he was still embarrassed by the memories of his behaviors. He hoped the next full moon would be different. He felt more settled now, more aware while he was a wolf.

He both felt and heard Angie walk up behind him and then settle along the cushioned windowsill with him. He shifted so they were both comfortable and glanced at her reflection in the glass. She smiled at him, but there was a curl to it he didn't like. He reached for their bond and felt her anxiety, her hope and her fear.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, turning to face her directly.

"Has anyone told you how Erin and I met?" she asked.

He shook his head.

She took a deep breath. "You know Erin is Aaron Yaxley's sister, that they both fought at Riddle's side in the last war. Erin was bitten then."

"How?"

"No one knows for certain. Erin barely remembers the event. Could have been any of the packs allied with Riddle, could even have been someone from this pack though no one has confessed. There were omegas too, feral wolves who were attracted by the violence and the swell of aggression during those battles. It wasn't a pretty time for anyone."

"I've heard some stories," Harry said.

"Right, well… My full name is Angelica Greengrass. Erin and I were childhood friends. We grew up together, in the way many pureblood families encourage. I've loved her for a long long time."

Harry's eyes traced the lines of her face. He reached forward and took her hands in his. "Did you ask her to bite you?"

"Yes. I wouldn't… couldn't live a life without her. Like you and Fenrir, it was readily apparent to all the werewolves that we were compatible. All I wanted was to stay by her side and when I realized her new instincts meant that she could see me as a mate, as someone who  _could_ stay by her side forever, I begged and begged for her to turn me. She asked Fenrir to do it and I had my own nesting period with Misaki."

"Not Gideon?"

"No, gosh, he was still a pup then. A teenager, but not yet an adult. Misaki's been the head submissive of this pack since it's founding. I think she expected to hate you for your potential to take that from her but… well you know she doesn't."

"I don't want to take that from her."

"That's the way this works. Doesn't matter if she's more qualified, if you take to Fenrir then that's the responsibility you'll have to accept." Angie dropped her head slightly. "Erin was made Fenrir's beta before I even learned enough to start begging for the bite. She's vicious when she needs to be and commanded several units during the war. When she turned out to be a strong wolf too he jumped on the chance to make her his. Her time in the war was her beta quest and no one questioned her place in the pack."

"There's a but coming."

Angie nodded. "I've loved her for so long, I barely remember when it started. When my nesting period ended, I folded for her like a deck of cards. I didn't earn my place as the second-strongest submissive of this pack, Harry, and many of the wolves didn't let me forget that for years. Even if Fenrir calls to you, even if all the other dominants pale in comparison, you can't fold for him. It different for the others, but when you were bitten  _specifically_ because of a potential mating like I was, then you need to prove yourself or the pack is going to walk all over you. I don't want you to have to deal with everything I did because of my ignorance."

"Thank you for warning me." Harry squeezed her hands. "I'll keep my head up."

"I know you will." Angie nuzzled his temple and he smiled. "You were meant for this Harry, like I was. You'll have to prove it like I did. And don't you dare let anyone tell you that you're not good enough." She grinned then. "I never thought I'd respect Hufflepuff traits until I saw how hard you've been working this past week. And I think the dominants will realize that winning your loyalty is a blessing. Your determination to be the best werewolf you can be will serve this pack well, Harry."

Harry glanced back out the window, at the moon-lit pond. Fenrir sat on his boulder, curled up in his large silver wolf form. Pups frolicked around him, asking to play, and he flicked his ears and swayed his tail for them indulgently.

"I'll do my best," he said. "I won't let you down."

-o-

Harry had to remind himself to keep a straight back as he walked out of the submissive's lounge. He wanted to hunch in on himself, to avoid the stares of the pack members in the hallway as he walked, but he knew to watch what signals he was giving off and that would be a poor one. Misaki walked to his right, Angie to his left. Gideon was down in the dining room already, making sure to keep their table clear.

The hallways got steadily more crowded as they neared the dining hall. Harry met the gazes of the gammas he walked past. Several of them sneered at the show of dominance, but Harry didn't drop his eyes. He thought of Angie's words and of the instincts the wolf inside him were pushing onto him.

Even if he didn't accept Fenrir as a mate, he wasn't going to roll over for just any dominant member of the pack.

Most of the gammas seemed to sense the idea, or at least something like it. The younger ones especially—the ones closer to his age or only a little older—dropped their heads in deference to his stare. Harry was in his nesting period and even with the other submissives they'd given him space. Only Misaki, Angie, and Gideon were allowed near him that week. He knew the fact that  _those_ three were the ones in charge of him emphasized his potential power in the pack. He would feel guilty about the step up he was getting but… well he did have a Slytherin side.

In the dining hall, Gideon sat at the corner-most round table on the right. He'd already laid out food for them all—an assortment of the same meats, cheeses, and fruits that Harry had been given to eat all week. Harry sat down at the table and murmured his thanks to Gideon. Angie sat down on his other side, but Misaki stayed standing.

Harry turned to her to ask why she wasn't joining them but saw as he did that Ivo was making his way toward them.

"Love," Misaki greeted as Ivo stopped a good ten feet from the table. She stepped closer to him and pressed a kiss to his lips, then his chin, before stepping back. "Is there something you need?"

"Just checking in," Ivo stated. His gaze flashed to Harry and Harry stared back at him. Like the first time he'd met Ivo, those eyes held a hint of mocking laughter in them. "Unobtrusively, of course," Ivo added, the mocking now in his tone too.

Misaki snorted. "I'm not defending you if he goes to rip your throat out for passive-aggressively breaking his nesting period," she said with far more amusement than annoyance.

Ivo hummed. "We," he gestured back to a table on the other end of the hall where Fenrir and all the other betas sat, "were simply concerned to see you among us so soon." He posed the statement to Misaki, but the question was obviously directed to the whole group.

Harry felt the wolf inside him metaphorically uncurl—spurned by the dominant's attention. He met Ivo's mocking gaze and pulled back his upper lip in a proper sneer.

"I love you," Misaki said, "but it's not your decision to question. Nor is it our alpha's."

Ivo inclined his head. "Of course." He kissed Misaki on the temple and meandered back to his own table.

Harry ate his meal quickly, mood soured by the tone of the conversation and by the knowledge that every werewolf in the hall was staring at him. He didn't look toward the table with Fenrir and the betas, didn't want to test the wolf inside him who paced restlessly now. His companions seemed to sense his mood and soon enough they were all back in the submissive-only lounge.

He huffed then and threw himself onto an armchair. "Why doesn't Ivo like me?"

"He doesn't respect you. Few dominants do, yet. That'll change when they see you're not some bitch that'll roll over for Fenrir." Angie shrugged. "It was the same with me, except I did just roll over for Erin. I didn't realize what it would do to my standing within the pack that I didn't make her work for it a little more. It took a while to fix that damage."

"Biologically, dominants are instinctually more likely to respect and trust submissives that fight harder before submitting—and that only submit to their mate and their alpha or betas. If it weren't that way, then submissives would be the lowest members of the pack universally. And what would that mean?" Misaki explained.

Harry thought about it. "Less food. More bullying. More injuries."

"Female submissives wouldn't survive childbirth. Male submissives might last longer, but they'd hardly last long."

"I get it. So we need to show the dominants that we're strong otherwise we'd be automatically weak."

"Exactly. Sometimes that means pushing back even when you don't want to."

"I was interested in Remus long before he was interested in me," Gideon said. "But I didn't show it. I might have… manipulated the situation so that he'd get his head out of his ass and start  _looking_ at me, but I made him fight for me after."

"Remus told me once that he had to become a beta of the pack so he could have you."

"All of us knew that Remus had the potential to be a good beta, so we did our best to make him see that he had to reach his full potential to be a worthy mate to me. I would have loved him either way, but our relationship is stronger because I pushed him."

"There are three stages to courtship… three things the dominant has to win over. First is the submissive's wolf, the physical aspect. Usually this happens during the full moon when courting starts, but continues to be reinforced throughout the courtship period," Misaki explained.

Angie continued, "The second is the submissive's interest, the mental aspect. Usually once a submissive is somewhat attracted to a fellow werewolf because of the physical, they become receptive to the more stereotypical private talks and long walks in the woods. So you can get to know the one who's courting you and vice versa."

"The final aspect is the spiritual," Gideon finished. "That's the all powerful, all mysterious thing called love. For Angie and I, that's what cemented our mates before they even started courting us, because once you love someone it's hard to stop and since they were already compatible for us physically and mentally… well we were ready for them before they were ready for us."

"But you don't have to wait to choose a mate until you're certain you love them. Love is ever-changing and it can take a while to fully form. All you really need is the knowledge that you  _can_ love your mate, that with time you will grow to love them. That was how it was with Ivo and myself. He courted me alongside many wolves and I choose him because he called to me physically and mentally. My wolf wanted to spend time curled up beside him and I want to spend hours talking to him. I didn't love him yet when we mated, but I knew it was only a matter of time. And it was."

Harry smiled at Misaki. "That's lovely," he said. As much as he enjoyed hearing about Angie and Gideon… it wasn't like that for him. He didn't love anyone in the pack, didn't think he was the kind of person who could fall in love immediately, but the idea of knowing he could love someone like Misaki was appealing.

"You've got some more time," Gideon said. "We'll talk through the things to expect from the dominants and from your own instincts. By the time the full moon rises again, you'll be more than ready to wheedle out the bad choices."

-o-

The light slowly faded over the pond. Harry leaned against Gideon's solid warmth. "Doesn't quite feel like it's already been a month," he said.

"I always thought the nesting period went by too fast. It's almost scary, the anticipation, and we're not given enough time to let that settle." He shrugged. "Then again, I ended up rejecting everyone who surged to court me in the initial months after my nesting period. As you know, it took awhile for Remus to get his head out of his ass." He grinned in the direction of his mate.

"Yeah." Harry sighed. He wasn't sure if he  _wanted_ to accept anyone, if he was ready to settle down. It was such a huge responsibility… all the expectations surrounding him. He enjoyed having Misaki, Angie, and Gideon be in charge of his training because it had afforded him some measure of privacy he wasn't sure he would have gotten otherwise. They'd only taken him out through the manor and the grounds a couple times.

Only once had a dominant gotten as near to him as Ivo had at the dining hall and unlike with Ivo, who was mated, he'd been openly interested in Harry. Harry's instincts had nearly bowled him over with the desire to gut the idiot who dared intrude on him like that, but Gideon and Angie had dragged him back into the manor before he could even transform enough to try. Harry wasn't sure what had happened to the idiot, but he knew Misaki had taken care of it and that was that.

He also knew Fenrir would be the first to approach him tonight and both he as a human and he as a wolf were uncertain of it. How would he react to the alpha, knowing all he did? He didn't want to reject Fenrir as a mate just because he wasn't interested in being the head submissive of the pack, but he also didn't want to accept the werewolf just because everyone was expecting him to. He wasn't sure how those conflicting feelings were going to come out instinctively once he was in wolfskin under the light of the full moon.

He knew what to expect from the courtship, knew the names and some choice facts about most of the unmated dominants in the pack—especially the stronger ones. His three companions had trained him in and out of his wolfskin but still it felt too soon.

Then again, he'd always learned best by doing and it was time to take the plunge. He couldn't hide behind the three beta submissives anymore.

"You should go stand by Remus," Harry said, moving off of Gideon. Misaki and Angie were already up there with their mates. Fenrir looked ready to start talking any second now. Harry wondered if he was impatient to get to the main event.

But that was unfair, because Fenrir very obviously waited for Gideon to find his place beside Remus before straightening up on his rock and quieting the pack. He didn't seem impatient, nor did he look in Harry's direction as he began speaking.

"A bit of news tonight. The Department of Magical Creature Regulation is being impertinent again," there was a groan from the pack, "and will be sending a representative here sometime next week to  _check up on things_. Our ambassador, Bill not Dorcas, will be joining this representative and will hopefully be keeping them distracted for most of their visit. I need everyone to be on their best behavior though, even if the representative is as unbearably rude as the last one. Don't make me do any paperwork, understood?"

"Yes, Alpha!"

"Good. We are still finding signs of leprechaun activity on our land, but haven't yet seen any of the suckers themselves. Keep an eye out. Ivo will be leading a hunting party to try to track them down tonight. If you're interested in joining him, meet up here by the pond and he'll organize everyone."

Fenrir snorted then. "Before some idiot asks why I won't be leading the hunting party, tonight's the start of our newest submissive's courting season. Any available dominant who wants to take a chance with Harry tonight can line up behind me. Usual rules of courtship, and the southwest side of the pond will be closed for privacy until Harry agrees to open it up again. I know Geraldine's courtship will be starting next full moon, so if Harry hasn't made his decision by then, we'll negotiate about sharing the space between the two of them. Questions? No, good."

The moon began to rise up over the pond. Harry felt the shift compel him, his wolf rearing up inside to take control. He let it, gentling the change as Misaki had taught him to do, so it wouldn't tear at him as his bones moved and his skin ripped.

He shook out his paws one at a time and lifted his head. The world was clear and crisp with his wolf eyes. He had no need for glasses in this form, though Gideon told him there was a slight hint of silver fur around the crease of his nose like where his glasses would normally sit. Otherwise, he'd been told he was a completely black wolf and he liked it. It meant he could blend in better than Fenrir—who stalked up to him now.

Harry looked at the huge silver wolf, his mane of fur blowing impressively in the breeze. Behind Fenrir, more wolves sat and waiting for their chance to approach him. He surveyed the collection—small, large, brown, white, red, and black… the whole range of possibility was there all for  _him_.

He let out a soft  _woof_. Fenrir paused, cocking his head. Harry barked twice, bowed to the ground with his tail held high, and then he ran as fast he could toward the thickest of the woods.

Harry was fast—it was his strongest physical characteristic and it bled through into his wolfskin. He'd issued his challenge, because he wasn't interested in sitting there like a doll while every interested dominant sniffed him and tried to get him to react to them. He'd been told the way the game usually went, but he'd also been told that submissives weren't obligated to play by the rules. So he didn't.

Instead, Harry ran through the forest. He could heard the sounds made by his pursuers, paws scrambling over leaves and falling branches as they all tried to catch up to him. But Harry was too fast and though he didn't know the woods well, he was also fearless as he barreled through the shrubbery.

He came to a skidding stop a good hundred meters deep into the forest, chest heaving. He tried to control his panting so it wouldn't attract the wolves looking for him, but it was difficult. He skulked low to the ground and searched for a hole to nestle into. He found a perfect one soon—a hollow in an old tree just barely big enough for him to squeeze in. He turned and stared out into the small clearing, waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

A low huff, amused and indignant at the same time, met him. Fenrir padded out from the right of the clearing. He must have veered at some point, trying to circle around to cut Harry off. He probably would have succeeded—if Harry hadn't stopped and hid instead.

There were no words to be heard in this form, but Harry could tell Fenrir's mood anyway. The larger wolf walked right up to his hole, as if the darkness were child's play to peer through. Harry wondered if he really could see him or if he just had a great nose or ears. Or a combination, he supposed. One didn't become alpha by being unable to hunt in rough terrain. One didn't survive a war by being unobservant.

Fenrir stopped a couple feet in front of Harry's hollow and dropped down to his haunches. He was too big to physically try to drag Harry out and Harry reached for their pack bond to try to gauge what Fenrir felt about that.

Indulgent amusement hit him strongest. His bond with Fenrir wasn't nearly as strong as the bonds he'd made with Misaki, Angie, and Gideon. Even his bond with Remus was clearer. But still, the bond between any pack member and the alpha was strong enough for this.

Harry grinned up at Fenrir and let his tongue roll out of his mouth.

Fenrir heaved a great big sigh and rolled over on his back. The answer was clear—it was Harry's choice to make whether or not he wanted to come out. Fenrir wasn't going to try to force him.

Harry felt his ears perk up, a reaction to his emotions more than a conscious choice. He slid out of the hole and cautiously walked up to Fenrir. Still, Fenrir didn't move. Harry dropped to the ground beside him and pressed his nose to Fenrir's chin. Fenrir surged up too fast for Harry to respond and knocked Harry over on his side. Harry growled, remembering then how Fenrir had dominated him the last full moon—before he'd been ready or receptive for the interest glowing in Fenrir's eyes.

But Fenrir merely stepped back and wagged his tail once. An invitation to play. Harry slowly got to his feet, surprised that Fenrir wasn't pushing him around. He bounded up and nearly tumbled over as Fenrir dodged out of his way. He huff-laughed and got to his feet again. Fenrir gave him a wolf's smile.

They played like that for a few moments—some attempt at tag but without the running. Harry finally got his nose on Fenrir's side and Fenrir congratulated him by attempting to lick his face. Harry dodged that and the game was back on the other way. All he could feel in the bond between them was amusement and interest and maybe a touch of something more, but he shied away from that.

Then Fenrir's ears perked in the direction of the manor and Harry darted back to his hollow. A large female wolf came into the clearing. She bowed her head to Fenrir. Fenrir walked over to the edge of the clearing and lay down with his chin on his paws—signaling to all the wolves that were to come that he'd had his chance and now he was just going to watch.

The female wolf walked up to Harry's hiding place and dropped down. She growled, obviously telling Harry to get out so they could do the usual sniff-and-greet. Harry pinned his ears back and turned away from her. She tried a few more times to coax him out, getting softer and gentler each time, but he was already done with her and eventually she skulked away.

More wolves came then, having caught up to his trail, and one-by-one he let them either draw him out or rejected them from his hole. After a while of watching the ones who succeeded, all the remaining ones got the picture that they needed to let him come of his own accord. So Harry did and he dealt with being sniffed and prodded. All the while, Fenrir watched from the sidelines.

In the end, less than ten wolves passed his test. Fenrir, obviously, which Harry was still a little surprised by. A female wolf not much larger than him with tan fur who'd actually squeezed herself to join him  _in_ the hollow and nestled by his side until he'd yipped his laughter and her and they'd moved out into the clearing to play for a moment. Another large male wolf, this one with a combination of grey and red streaks, who'd wagged his tail so ferociously every time Harry so much as shifted in the hollow that he'd ended up coming to play just so he could attempt to pounce on it. They'd had a fun couple minutes chasing each other's tails before the next wolf had growled for his turn.

A few wolves he accepted because they'd done pretty much textbook-perfect things—let him come out on his own, let him start the play and let him end it. And then there was the last wolf, another male, who was as white as Harry was black. That one hadn't done anything, had just watched him until his own curiosity had overtaken him and he'd come up to say hi. In the end though, except for meeting noses briefly, the white wolf had simply smiled at him. It had been a comfortable rest in between all the changing moods and Harry had enjoyed relaxing by his side for the allotted time.

So seven wolves found him, called him out of his hollow, and engaged him in the clearing. Seven wolves would be allowed to approach him for courtship walks and talks in the coming month. Seven wolves that he rotated between, playing and resting and engaging with for the rest of the moon-filled night.

As the sun rose and they all began to shift back to human form, Harry thought of his plans for them. He wondered if they'd be as indulgent of his mental challenge as they were of his physical one.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry rifled through his trunk, searching for the moleskin pouch inside. He found it finally toward the bottom and drew it out triumphantly. Hedwig hooted at him from her perch. He closed his trunk and walked over to her. "Sorry I haven't spent much time with you, girl," he murmured. "Are you enjoying our new home?"

She nibbled on his fingers to show she wasn't mad at him. Harry had been worried that his transformation was going to break their familiar bond, but if anything it seemed to be stronger. Almost like the receptors that were primed for the pack bonds to form had allowed him a greater understanding of his owl also.

"Oh," he said. "Is there another owl here you've got your eye on?"

She turned her head away as if in embarrassment but he could feel her pride and smugness that the majestic head of the wild flock out in the forest had shown interest in her.

"There is! Hedwig!" He laughed and scratched her neck. "Well, I know he won't be able to resist you."

She nibbled on him again then hopped away to get space to take off. He watched her fly out the open window with a smile. He was glad she'd settled in well, glad he didn't have to give up everything that connected him to his past to boldly follow this future.

Speaking of his past… he turned back to the moleskin pouch. He tied it to the belt loop of his trousers as he exited the room. Angie had procured for him the standard clothes of the pack—sturdy supple leather that would last a long time even with constant rough-housing. Apparently some of the pack members spent their time making and tailoring the clothes for any new member or anyone who needed replacements. Supposedly most pack members also had at least a couple muggle sets of clothing and wizard robes so they could traverse between both of those worlds as well, but inside pack grounds it was just easier to wear the simple vest and trousers.

Harry walked down to the ground floor and saw Remus and Gideon coming out of the dining hall. He smiled as he approached them. "Done with breakfast?"

"We just finished," Remus said. "Ivo and Misaki are still in there if you want to join them."

"Or you can pick one of your suitors to keep you company while you eat," Gideon reminded him.

The second part of the courtship was all on Harry's terms. He'd made sure all seven wolves who'd passed his test were made aware that their suit was ongoing after the full moon. But, at least for the initial part of the mental courtship, it was still all on Harry to approach any single one of them for company. Only when he initiated physical contact with one of them would that specific suitor be allowed to seek out his company on their own terms.

From what the beta submissives had told him, it often took a few weeks before a submissive felt comfortable kissing one or two of their suitors. The rest then usually gave it up for lost and let the remaining few try their hardest to win over the third part of the courtship—the love of the submissive. Of course, it also wasn't uncommon for a submissive to call the courtship off, not having found what they wanted in the initial batch of suitors. That submissive was then allowed to announce a secondary courtship period at any point in the future for any new suitors to try their chance.

But werewolves mated for life, expect in a few cases of premature death while the bond was still new between the pair, so once the submissive accepted a dominant's suit and they bonded, that was it. The permanence of it made Harry want to be very careful before choosing.

"Thanks, I think I will," Harry said. He tapped his moleskin pouch and gave Gideon a little wink.

Gideon laughed, knowing exactly what Harry had planned as the first challenge of his mental courtship. "Sounds like a great activity to do over breakfast," he said.

"I know it's not any of my business, and feel free to not answer me, but I am curious if you plan on initiating contact in the order in which you accepted the dominants during the full moon, or in another order," Remus half-asked.

Harry had given that quite a bit of thought and talked it over with the beta submissives. "A different order," he said. "I know you're really asking if I'm going to give our alpha the first go." He smirked.

"Harry here plans to make Fenrir wait," Gideon said, chortling.

Remus frowned. "I'd be careful with what childish games you play with him. Fenrir has little patience for immature pranks."

"It's not a game," Harry said. "It's a test. You can't deny that Fenrir is very used to being held first among the pack."

"Well, he  _is_  the alpha."

"But he's not guaranteed my suit and if he can't handle that…" Harry shrugged. "So, yes, he's going to be last. Besides, I want to learn more about the others. I barely know anything about them and I've heard enough about Fenrir to satisfy my curiosity for now. This is  _my_ courtship and I'm not afraid to do it my way."

"I can see that." Remus smiled. "Good luck, then, and good hunting."

Harry laughed and walked into the dining hall. He scanned the tables as he went to get his breakfast, looking for the seven wolves who were courting him.

Fenrir sat at the table with Ivo, Misaki, and Erin. Harry knew that Angie would sleep in every day she was allowed, so he wasn't surprised that she wasn't there. Also at that table was another of the wolves who'd passed his first test: Caleb Parker, the fourth beta of the pack. He was the grey and red mix who'd been so enthusiastic that Harry had jumped out of the hollow to play with his tail. Harry heard from the beta submissives that Caleb was an energetic werewolf in general and that had made him a good balance for the fourth beta of the pack. He was popular among the pups and the younger gammas for his willingness to play, but also respected by the older gammas for his unending energy while tackling the troubles of pack.

Harry noticed Fenrir and Caleb looking back at him and he gave them both a smile before scanning the rest of the hall.

Amy Daige, who was in charge of the education of the pack pups, sat at a table with several other instructors. Harry wasn't entirely clear on the schedule for the pups, but he did know they woke up early because he'd seen them playing in the grass while he was getting ready for the day. He supposed the various caretakers and instructors had a rotating schedule for watching them. Amy looked like she'd just started on breakfast and he knew he'd have to work his courtship walks with her around her busy routine. But despite her probably having the hardest job of the pack, she was also an enthusiastic werewolf. She was the small tan female who'd darted into the hollow with him, drawing him out with a laugh. He knew that energy had to serve her well with all the children she was in charge of, but he was also interested in learning more about what she taught them. The idea of a more home-school environment fascinated him after seven years at Hogwarts.

At another table sat Bethany Belwright who was a black and white-patched wolf. She'd been textbook perfect during the full moon, but he didn't really know much about her beside that. She sat in a group of younger gammas, all laughing and jeering at each other. On the other side of that same table was Antonio Sanchez. His wolf form was a mess of white, tan, and brown fur, but he was more more put together in human form.

The only two of his seven missing were Emily Fells, a common grey who'd been another textbook perfect wolf. And Charles Thompson, who was the white wolf that had given Harry some time to relax amongst all the chaos of the full moon. Charles supposedly had a child already, a daughter named Karla, but according to Misaki he'd never officially mated. Harry wondered if he was one of the caretakers watched the children right now or if he had another job in the pack. Emily, he'd been told, was on the roster for border patrols so she was either sleeping after a late night shift or out there right now.

Harry considered his options, then headed over to the table with Bethany and Antonio. He could feel the stares from the table with Fenrir and Caleb, but he didn't turn in their direction. He'd catch Caleb at a different time. He was going to leave Fenrir for last, but he also didn't want to be cruel and rub that in his face by inviting Caleb to eat with him.

So instead, he walked up to the table with the younger gammas. They quieted as they saw him approach. There were a couple submissives at the table, both obviously mated judging by how they sat half in the laps of their dominant partners. The rest of the table was made up of at least six unmated dominants, including Bethany and Antonio. The table was overcrowded and full of energy. It reminded him of the house tables at Hogwarts and he smiled.

"Hi," he said, looking around the whole group then specifically at Bethany and Antonio.

Bethany had blond hair that curled at the ends and dark brown eyes. She was tall and slender, but muscles stood out on her arms and shoulders. Antonio, on the other hand, was short with thick black hair and prickles on his chin. They stood in contrast to each other like day and night, which Harry found aesthetically appealing. He also like how they waited for him to speak first, not trying to jump at a chance to talk to him simply because he'd approached their table.

He waved slightly at everyone else around to the table in an attempt not to be rude, but spoke directly between Bethany and Antonio. "I want to get started on talks and walks, but I don't know you guys' schedules for today and tomorrow."

Bethany glanced at Antonio then spoke first. "I've got a flexible schedule. I work with the grounds' upkeep team and as long as I get the job done by the end of the day, I'm free to take as many breaks as I want. The only big thing for today and tomorrow is hunting down and cleaning up the fool's gold those bloody leprechauns have been scattering about, so I think I can spare as much time as you want."

Harry nodded and turned to Antonio.

"I'm one of the tailors," he said with a shy smile. "I'm glad your new clothes seem to fit you."

Harry ran a hand down his vest. "They really do, thanks. Do you have a lot of clothes you need to make today?"

"We've got a couple orders for replacements, but like Bethany my schedule is flexible as long as I get the work done. I usually just take a long lunch, though, and work solidly through the rest of the day. It's hard to do needlework, or even needle-working spells, at night."

"That makes sense." Harry glanced to his right and saw that Amy was halfway done with her food. "I'm going to check on one more then I'll get back to you guys and let you know. Are you cool to stick around a couple more minutes?"

"We're fine," Bethany said.

"But," Antonio hesitated.

"Yes?" Harry asked.

Antonio glanced at Bethany then sighed. "It's just… we expected to have to wait a few days, until after you've had your time with our alpha and Beta Caleb, at least."

Harry grinned. "Well, I like exceeding people's expectations." He bounced off toward Amy before Antonio or Bethany could reply.

Amy watched him approach and set down her fork. "Good morning, Harry," she said. Her hair was dirty blond and pulled up into a tight ponytail out of her face. She had a small dusting of freckles across her nose and some more on her arms.

"Good morning," Harry returned. "I know you're probably busy most days, but I wanted to get started getting to know you and the others. When's the best time to draw you away?"

Amy tapped her fork on the plate for a moment. "I've got a meeting with my various teachers today right after breakfast and we have a limited time so that the caretakers can get some lunch in before the afternoon play session. I should be free after dinner tonight or, if you prefer, we can plan for breakfast or lunch tomorrow. I have to teach a class to the older pups at nine, but my lesson is already prepped. After lunch tomorrow and for the next whole day I'll be at the Ministry taking a seminar on the recent changes to the OWLS and NEWTS."

Harry liked hearing the way she spoke about her job. She was obviously organized and dedicated to her work, which he very much appreciated. "Let's do breakfast tomorrow then. I don't want you to be late to the seminar tomorrow afternoon, but we can plan to be up early enough for a long breakfast."

Amy smiled. "Sounds perfect. I can be down at seven or earlier if you prefer."

"Two hours should be plenty of time," Harry said. "I'll see you tomorrow at seven then." He bowed his head slightly to her then waved at the rest of the gammas the table before jogging back to Bethany and Antonio's place.

"Okay," he said as he approached them. "Bethany, you want to join me right now while I eat? Antonio, let's plan for lunch today around noon. Sound good?"

They both nodded and Bethany quickly gathered up her plate. She'd already eaten, but she threw away her trash and grabbed another plate with some fruit on it before joining Harry.

They walked out the door together and into the back grass. Harry led them to the southwest section of the pond, which he'd already scoped out yesterday afternoon. The pond was large and it created a bit of a dirt-sand beach around itself because of that. The southwest corner was secluded, with plenty of trees and rocks. Harry found a low branch and perched himself on it, facing the pond. Bethany hesitated a minute, before Harry patted the bark next to him. She hopped up and joined him.

"How old are you?" Harry asked as he began to eat.

"I'm turning twenty-two next month," she said. "I was born into the pack. My parents were one of the first to join Fenrir. They were already mated and looking for a strong alpha to settle with since their original turned about to be a real ass. Supposedly he really wanted my dad and when my dad refused his courtship in favor of my mom… well…" Bethany shrugged then scratched the back of her head. "Sorry, I have the tendency to ramble a lot when I'm nervous. You didn't ask me all that."

"No, I'm curious now. So they choose Fenrir?"

"Yeah. From what they say, all he had at that point was his first betas, Ivo and Misaki, and a couple unmated dominants. The pack was a lot more feral in those days, living in the forest instead of inside four walls, but Fenrir was reasonable and when he heard their story he told them that he thought their former alpha was a childish fool for allowing his own immature feelings hurt the pack. So they stayed with him and ended up having me during the war."

"That must have been rough. I was born right toward the end, but I know the pack fought in it so it must have been scary for your parents."

"Yeah, I think so. Mom doesn't talk about it and Dad's only told me a little. They hid a lot, I think. Fenrir made sure the able-bodied submissives were trained to fight so they could be responsible for guarding the pups while the dominants mostly fought alongside him. Of course, a few submissives did too but from what my dad says, your instinctual drive is stronger when protecting the pack's territory and pups so Fenrir took advantage of that. We didn't get this manor house until after the war was over and everything settled down. I actually remember when the pack moved into it, but it's been my home for long enough now that it feels like we've been here forever."

"Wow." Harry chewed his muffin for a moment, gazing out over the pond at the edge of the manor house. "So did you decide to go into groundskeeping or was it chosen for you?"

"Oh, I decided. I mean, with jobs it's a bit of a first-come-first-serve thing. And if someone chooses a job that they aren't suited for, one of the betas usually redirects them, but otherwise once we come of age we're basically allowed to do what we want. I switched around a bit for the first year after I turned seventeen. Did some work in tailoring, in food runs, even some in education though I was really bad at it. I settled on working the grounds because I like the physical labor of it. I like keeping my body active. And it helped that there's always positions open for it, since most seem to think it's servant work." She scoffed.

"But there are house elves that do the cooking and cleaning, right?"

"Yeah. We only have half a dozen and it's enough of a job just to cook for the whole pack, so once we grew big enough Fenrir told them to stop worrying about the outside grounds and let the pack do it instead. It's better this way because we can do things like clean up leprechaun gold and report to our alpha and betas where we saw it so they can pinpoint the damn things' nest."

"That makes sense." Harry finished his breakfast and waved his wand to vanish his plate so he wouldn't litter the ground. He'd watched Bethany do the same thing earlier with her fruit bowl. He stretched and then slid down to the ground. There was a nice spot of sandy grass that he settled into. Bethany joined him.

"So, you know I grew up a wizard at Hogwarts," Harry said. "I bet you've heard of chocolate frogs."

"Sure have." Bethany grinned. "I always love it when the magic activates and they try to run away. They're fun to chase down."

Harry laughed. All his schoolmates had complained about the same effect, but it made sense a werewolf would have a different opinion about runaway food. "Well, so I ended up in the habit of collecting chocolate frog cards when I was still too young to enter Hogwarts and I haven't stopped. I think I have most of them now, but when I moved to the manor they all got jumbled together in this pouch." He lifted up the moleskin. "So if you wouldn't mind, I thought we'd make a game of sorting them."

"Sounds interesting. What are the rules?"

"Three piles. The first one will be for the heroes. Those really cool, really interesting people who've made awesome things and done amazing stuff. The second pile here will be for the whatevers. They're pretty interesting, but you wouldn't want to sit through a whole lesson on their deeds. The third pile will be for the one that you think should have never gotten the honor of being put on the back of a chocolate frog card, and explain the reason. Got it?"

Bethany nodded. "Okay, let's do it."

Harry began taking cards out at random and handing them to Bethany to sort. He took note of where she put each card. He figured the challenge was pretty obvious, but Bethany didn't seem to care about his scrutiny as she sorted through the individuals. She put Minister Riddle in the heroes pile, but Dumbledore in the whatevers. All the oldest figures ended up in the third pile because, as she explained, their history was long past and no one really cared anymore. Alberic Grunnion, who invented the dungbomb, went in heroes and Bridget Wenlock, who discovered the magical properties of the number seven, in whatevers.

Harry soon saw the pattern to Bethany's choices. The funnier cards—the people who invented pranks and jinxes, were interesting to her. The academics were whatevers, she obviously knew they were important but wasn't interested in them. The more famous figures, even the old ones, ended up in whatevers—such as the Hogwarts founders and even Merlin and Morgan le Fay. Some of the more recent famous figures did end up in heroes, like Minister Riddle and the varying members of the Weird Sisters. Most Quidditch related things also ended up in heroes, though Cyprian Youdle, the only known Quidditch referee to die in a match, was a whatever. Anything too old and without obvious significance, like Dzou Yen who was a Chinese alchemist in the 4th century BC, ended up in the discard pile.

Harry thanked her for sorting the cards for him and carefully put the piles into his moleskin pouch, though he knew they'd get all jumbled up again as soon as he moved. That was okay, though, because he planned to do the same exercise with all his other suitors. Bethany cracked her neck and shoulders and stood.

"That was interesting," she said. "Learn what you wanted to know?"

"I did, thanks," he answered. "I hope you have a good day. Maybe you'll find the nest and we can get rid of the leprechauns before they cause serious trouble."

"I can hope." She sighed, then smiled down at him. "I had fun talking with you. I know it's your choice if you want to do it more, but I would love to do breakfast again with you sometime. Maybe you can tell me about Hogwarts. I've always been curious what it's like."

Harry had planned to give everyone at least two visits before he started rejecting them, so he didn't hesitate to say, "I'd like that. I'll let you know sometime later this week when I'll be free."

"Great!" She vibrated, as if holding back to urge to lunge forward and hug him. "I'll see you later then."

"Bye, Bethany," Harry said. He watched her transform into her wolfskin and lope back toward the manor. She reminded him of some of his classmates, in a good way, but he also wasn't sure how she'd stand up to the others when it came to intelligent conversation. She was well-spoken and smart, but it was the common sense kind of smart more so than the intellectual kind. Still, he'd give her another chance, at least, and see if his casual interest in her deepened. For now, he wanted to go see if he could find Emily or Charles and add them to his schedule.

He ended up running into Caleb first. The beta was tall, almost the same height as Fenrir which meant he towered over Harry. He wasn't built as much like a powerhouse as Fenrir was, but there was definition to his muscular arms. His hair was tightly curled and dark red. It bounced around his ears as he walked.

Harry veered away from the staircase and ran to catch up with him. Caleb stopped and turned in his direction. "Hi!" Harry said, coming to a stop next to him. "Are you busy right now?"

"Nah," Caleb said. There was a smirk to his mouth as he said, "So you were ignoring Fenrir, not me this morning? I wondered."

"I'm not ignoring him," Harry said. "I'm just exploring my other options first." He smirked back. "So, wanna come walk with me?"

"Of course."

Caleb let Harry lead, though he had to know where they were going by the direction Harry walked, but unlike Bethany who'd been cautious about giving Harry space, Caleb instead veered dangerously close to it. Every other step he ended up just inside what Harry felt comfortable with. It was a tease, of sorts, feeling the large werewolf loom over him from behind. Harry wasn't quite sure if he liked it or not. Certainly Caleb's confidence was exhilarating but Bethany had been respectful of the early stage of the courtship and that was nice too.

Inside, Harry's wolf opened his eyes and stretched out his jaw—waiting.

But Caleb didn't go further than the looming tease. He didn't touch Harry. Even when Harry half-tripped on a tree root and fell into his space, Caleb dodged out of the way and let Harry catch himself. So his wolf closed his eyes again, content that courtship boundaries weren't being outright broken, and Harry settled down on the grassy sand to explain the game.

"Got it," Caleb said once Harry finished explaining. "Let's do this, then."

Harry handed Caleb the cards one by one. Caleb, like Bethany, seemed to be a quidditch fan, though he put the referee Cyprian Youdle in the no-go pile because, he explained, the man had been an idiot during the match and his death was his own damn fault. Both Riddle and Dumbledore went in the heroes pile—"They shaped our current world, after all."—and so did the Founders and Merlin. Most academics, though, went into the third pile.

"I understand that research and advancement is important," Caleb said as put the inventor of cheering charms, Felix Summerbee, into the third pile. "But I think these cards should be reserved for people who really  _did_  stuff, not just sat around their houses mixing potions and trying different wand movements. Look at Dumbledore! He helped find the twelve uses of dragon's blood, which is all well and good, but the reason he really got his place on the card is because of his defeat of Grindelwald."

"Makes sense," Harry said, though internally he disagreed. When Caleb proceeded to put Ignatia Wildsmith, the inventor of Floo Powder, into the third pile yet Babayaga—a Russian hag who ate children—made it into the whatever pile, he decided he really didn't understand Caleb's sorting system. He professed to only want true action heroes on the back of the cards, yet he kept people like the drummer for the Weird Sisters and Xavier Rastrick the entertainer.

Of course, Harry also though people the arts deserved recognition, but not at the expense of taking off researchers and spellcrafters. He could argue that Newt Scamander did far more to help the magical world than Uric the Oddball, and yet Caleb though Scamander was an idiot and Uric was hilarious.

Harry put the cards away and settled his irritation. The whole reason he'd chosen this test was to see how his opinions on magic and society matched his suitors and he couldn't be angry that Caleb had differed from him. It did drop Caleb down in his list of possible mates, but it also wasn't the end of the line yet. He'd give Caleb another chance, like he'd give Bethany. Physically, Caleb appealed to him more and there was something to be said for that as well.

Caleb leaned back against the nearest tree trunk and looked at Harry for a moment. "I don't think I passed your test."

Harry thought he was controlling his facial expressions well enough, but then Caleb was a beta of the pack and he was probably bleeding some through their faint pack bond. "Not really," he said honestly.

Caleb cocked his head to the side. "Disappointing, but not surprising. We grew up very differently, I think. You had a unique childhood in the eyes of the pack. I don't think you'll find that your views are the same as most here. I can appreciate some things on a intellectual level, but in my day to day life, I hardly give a shit about places like Hogwarts or Diagon Alley. You have to understand, Harry, that living in near isolation like we do is a vastly different experience. What use do I have for Alchemy or Arithmancy? Simple, practical charms are great and the spells I've used in battle, but what do I care for the inventor of childish hexes?"

Harry smiled. Caleb made sense and his words were wise. For all that Caleb was the youngest and most immature of the betas, he was a beta of the pack for a reason. He was energetic and enthusiastic, but even the older pack members respected him and that wouldn't have been won without some amount of wisdom.

"Okay," Harry said, accepting the words. "But I did grow up in that environment and however much I might find my opinions change in the coming years, that will still always be a part of me. I'm never going to forget where I came from."

"No," Caleb agreed, and there was something dark in his blue eyes, something nasty in the twist of his lips. "We never really do."

Harry froze, uncertain, but Caleb shook himself and that happy grin came back as if it had never been overtaken by shadows.

"Well, I'm glad we got all that hashed out early, anyway," Caleb said. "Maybe next time, we can do something we both enjoy. If you haven't taken a dip yet in the pond here, the water's clean and it's a great way to spend an afternoon."

"Sounds like fun. Let's plan on doing that later this week." Harry stood with Caleb. "Thanks for indulging my curiosity."

"I'll indulge you as much as you want," Caleb responded. He gave a little bow and a wink. "Now, I can feel Fenrir's irritation from here. Seems like I'm late for a meeting. Catch you later, Harry."

"Bye."

Harry tossed the bag of cards up and down in his hand as he watched Caleb walked off. The beta had given him a lot to think on. He made himself remember the societal differences as he did the same challenge with the rest of his suitors over the next few days.

Antonio—"All my friends call me Tony, actually. You don't have to, but I'd like it if you did."—was more reserved than either Bethany or Caleb. He didn't have much care for Quidditch, though he did seem to enjoy music and the arts. He respected anything academic, but put few of those cards in the heroes pile. The cards he discarded were all nasty individuals, such as Babayaga and Ethelred the Ever-Ready, who was famous for cursing innocent bystanders.

"Why are we lauding them?" he said as he added Circe, who turned sailors into pigs, into the third pile. "They were mean or spiteful and all they did was hurt people. Doesn't it send a bad message to put them on cards that many children collect?"

Harry enjoyed his time with Tony and, especially considering what Caleb said about differences, agreed with Tony's choices a lot. Still, it was interesting seeing what he choose in comparison to Amy Daige that morning. As an educator, she'd placed nearly all the academics into the hero pile, but all the Quidditch players and entertainers were discarded.

Hearing Tony's reason for discarding the evildoers, he found it fascinating that Amy had nearly an opposite reaction. "How are children to know what's wrong if they don't have examples to say  _this, don't do this_. The reason we teach kids about Babayaga and Morgan Le Fey is to show them the extremes of unacceptable behavior just as we teach the extremes of heroism."

Amy had put many cards such as Wilfred Elphick, who was the first wizard to be gored by an African Erumpent, into the whatever section. "Cautionary tales are well and good, but the more you stress them, the more a child will want to try themself. It's good to have a couple in your back pocket as an example during a lesson, but I'd never take an hour explaining everything Wilfred Elphick did wrong unless I wanted one of my kids to go try to do it better… and probably get gored themself for their stupidity."

Harry ran into Emily Fells the evening after he finished with Amy and Tony. She was stockier than Bethany or Amy and her hair was cropped short. When Harry explained the game to her, she groaned.

"Nothing against your idea," she said. "I just hate sitting still trying to read. I probably would have failed out of a normal education system. I don't have the patience to sit and learn about things. I'd rather do then be told how to do, if you know what I mean."

"Want me to read the cards to you and you can just tell me what you think of them?" Harry asked. "It shouldn't take too long, I promise."

"Sure, why not? It's your courtship, I'm just along for the ride." She grinned.

Harry found that grin infectious and ended up grinning back. "Do you play Quidditch?"

"Sure do." She stretched. "Usually seeker, though I enjoy the other roles too. You look like you'd be a fast opponent."

"I am," Harry said, because there was no denying that. "How about this… we get through the cards then next time we can do a seeker challenge against each other."

"That, I can look forward to."

Emily ended up sorting very similarly to Caleb, though she even put the Hogwarts' Founders into the discard. Basically anyone she didn't care about, she tossed, which left a very small pile of heroes, no one in the whatever pile, and a large discard section.

Harry appreciated her frankness, at least, and set up a time with her to play some Quidditch later.

The next day, he stalked out Charles Thompson at lunch time. Charles was still young enough despite having an eight-year-old girl, but his hair was prematurely grey. His eyes were blue like a clear sky and there were hints of smile wrinkles around their edges.

"I'm sorry I haven't been available," he said as Harry approached him. "I understand you've started your walks."

"I get that you're busy, don't worry," Harry told him. "At some point, I'd love to meet your daughter. Not yet, but… next time, maybe."

"She'll enjoy that. She keeps asking me about you."

Like their wolf forms, Harry was instantly relaxed in Charles's presence and he wasn't quite sure why. There was something about the man that just let him lower his guard. Charles was soothing and even his voice was low and melodic. When Harry explained the card game, he just smiled and called Harry, "Clever."

Harry had to pull back a blush at that. Charles was the oldest werewolf courting him, but Harry was ridiculously attracted to him. There was something about how calm Charles was that made Harry feel like he had to watch himself for fear of being seen as childish… but it excited him too. He wondered if he had a fetish for older men. Or maybe it was a fetish for experience, because Amy had certainly interested more than Bethany and Emily.

Charles was slow as he went over the cards. He obviously put great thought into each of the choices. In the end, he didn't discard a single card and nearly even-split the stack amongst heroes and whatevers.

"Why keep all of them?" Harry asked.

"They were chosen for a reason," Charles said. "The idea of taking that away doesn't sit well with me, just as the idea of burning a book or erasing a section of history just because you don't like it. I don't hide things from my daughter or the other pups. If they ask me something, I answer them honestly. I may not go into all the details, but I don't censor. There was a reason Uric the Oddball was chosen as one of the representatives of the wizarding world and it's not my place to disagree with that."

"And if your daughter asks you what your opinion on him is?"

"I'd tell her that his story cheers people up. They like to see him wearing a jellyfish hat and waving a tree branch instead of a wand because it reminds them that people are inherently different and if Uric the Oddball can be accepted, then surely they can too."

Harry wanted to curl up in Charles's space and just listen to him talk. He had to stop himself from doing just that, had to remind himself that it was far too early to initial physical contact, even if all he wanted to do was take a nap while listening to Charles's steady heartbeat. "That's beautiful," he said instead. "Thank you for sharing with me."

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity." Charles smiled. "I know I'm probably too old for you, but when I saw you at the full moon, I couldn't resist trying my chance."

Harry shrugged. "You're not much older than Fenrir is," he said.

"Ah, but our alpha is always an exception and I have a child. Most submissives want to start their own family, not enter into a pre-existing one."

"I grew up without a proper family, but I found one in the orphanage and in my housemates at Hogwarts. I want to find one here too, with everyone in the pack. The fact that you have a daughter doesn't put me off at all. I just hope she likes me."

"She'll love you." Charles stood and held out a hand to help Harry up. He pulled it back a second later and a charming blush lit up his cheeks. "My apologies."

Harry got to his feet. "It's fine. Thank you for the thought."

"On Saturday then?" Charles asked.

"Saturday," Harry agreed. They'd already made plans for Harry to meet Charles and his daughter for lunch then do a little playtime during the afternoon. "See you then."

"Take care, Harry." Charles left at a slow walk, not rushing back to the manor or his duties like the others all had. He walked with the gait of someone who knew exactly how long it would take him to go where he was going and who was determined to enjoy the journey just as much as the final arrival.

Harry stretched. His wolf clambered inside him, wanting space, and he shifted easily. He was suddenly full of energy and he raced along the backside of the pond. Only one of his suitors remained and he was ready to finish this first phase. With his enhanced smell, he sought out Fenrir.

The alpha was easy to find. He sat on his boulder in human form, gazing out over the pond with his back to the manor. Harry ran up to him, ears perked and tail high. Fenrir glanced at him then back at the pond. Harry shifted back into his human skin and nearly misstepped as his paws became feet. Fenrir's lips twisted as if he'd just barely held back a smile.

Harry shook himself off and walked to Fenrir's side.

"Finally ready for me?" Fenrir asked. There wasn't a bite to his words. Despite the warnings of Remus and the beta submissives over the half-week he'd been talking and walking, Fenrir didn't seem upset at being made to wait.

"Whenever you're free," Harry said. "I know you've been busy preparing for the Ministry's visit."

"We're as ready as we're going to be," Fenrir said. His eyes remained fixed on the pond.

Harry let his gaze travel the same line, wondering what Fenrir was looking at. The clear pond reflected the manor behind them—distorted blue glory. In the corner, he could make out the shapes of various pack members playing on the lawn. Up on the balconies, more pack members sat in rippling forms. Fenrir and Harry's reflection stood at the forefront, a large barrier between the world and the utopia behind them.

Harry realized then that Fenrir was worried. Not about anything specific… just a general worry for the future of his pack. He cared about what would happen during the visit and despite his flippancy when he announced it to the pack during the last full moon, he worried that the Department for Magical Creature Regulation's representative would find some fault in them.

Harry looked at Fenrir's reflection, the tall warrior with soft edges who stood sentinel in the water, and wondered if that worry ever faded. He'd only been in the pack for a little more than a month, but already he felt the same anxiety that something would disrupt this peace. To the alpha who'd held the pack together in wartime, who'd pushed them into the serenity they had now, the idea of losing that peace had to be terrible.

"Wanna forget about it for awhile?" Harry asked and his voice came out softer than he'd intended. "Come play a stupid game with me?"

Fenrir finally looked from the pond to Harry. Harry met those silver eyes.

"Yeah," Fenrir said and he lumbered to his feet with more grace than a man of his size should have. "Let's do that."

Harry let Fenrir lead him into the grove. It felt natural that Fenrir knew exactly where they were going. He didn't complain as Fenrir sat on the same sandy grass that he'd conducted all the tests. Of course Fenrir had figured out the location, if only by the scents left over. Most werewolves didn't have enough control to have enhanced senses while in human form, but Fenrir was famous for it.

Harry shuffled the chocolate frog cards as he explained the rules. Fenrir just nodded and held out his hand for the first card.

Harry watched Fenrir sort silently. Fenrir didn't explain his choices until the end. Only once all the cards were sorted did he tap each pile.

"I won't call them heroes," he said, "but the ones in here deserve respect. If a way of showing that is by plastering their faces on candy, that's fine." Fenrir's cut off had been high. Riddle and Dumbledore had both made it, along with the Hogwarts' Founders, Merlin, Morgan Le Fey, and Arthur Pendragon. There were several academics and researchers in the pile too, but only the most far-reaching effectors. The ones who'd changed fundamentals, like finding the magical properties of the number seven, or whose inventions had altered society, like creating Floo powder or the goblin who opened up Gringotts.

Most of the other academics had gone in the whatevers, as had many of the entertainers and Quidditch players. "These guys," Fenrir explained, "are side notes. Interesting enough, but the ripples they made only effected smaller communities. They may be heroes for a Quidditch addict or a room of alchemists, but on the whole what they did only changed certain lives, not everyone's."

In the discard pile, Fenrir had put all the funny stories, the eccentrics. "What do they matter in the scheme of things?" he asked. "Put them in a book to make people laugh, but I hardly give a shit if Wendelin the Weird enjoyed pretending to burn at the stake."

Harry put the cards away, this time taking care to bind the piles together so he could look at them again later. Fenrir settled back against the grass, one arm cushioning his head. Harry crossed his arms over his knees and rested his chin on them.

"The representative comes on Monday," Fenrir said. "She'll be here for three days, just enough time to annoy the hell out of us but not enough to justify us kicking her out. She's going to be interested in you, because you joined us right after graduating Hogwarts."

"Misaki already talked to me," Harry said, because he saw where the conversation was going. "I won't mention our… connection. I won't mention the dynamics or the courtship. Angie suggested that I hold off on any engagement with you or the other suitors until the representative is gone and I agreed."

Fenrir relaxed against the ground. Harry was startled to realize that the alpha had been concerned. Then again, it was a delicate subject for Fenrir to navigate both being the alpha, and one of Harry's suitors. "Good."

"I want to get second meetings done before she arrives," Harry said. "I'm going to take the time while she's here to think over all seven of you. I know a lot of submissives start cutting suitors immediately, but I like a little distance before I make big decisions like that. Nothing good ever comes from me doing things rashly, I learned that the hard way."

"Smart." Fenrir sat up and turned to regard Harry. "You don't need to explain yourself to me. I won't pretend that I'm not jealous about how much time you're giving the others. My wolf and I are of one mind most of the time, Harry, and we're both possessive."

"Your wolf thinks I'm already yours," Harry whispered into his arms.

Fenrir sighed. "By the old ways, you already would have been. But I'd rather court you and have you decide then take you like that. I've done enough savage things to last a lifetime, I won't ruin you by falling back into that temptation."

Harry lifted his head. The exhilaration he felt being in Fenrir's company was different from the others. He hadn't been able to feel the pull when he first turned into a werewolf, too new to all the various instincts, but he could now. He couldn't deny that Fenrir called to him strongest of all his suitors. Charles was perhaps a close second, with Amy not far behind, but the pull his felt toward Fenrir was nearly overpowering. Still, he'd been told that instincts weren't everything and plenty of happy mates had been made out of two whose call was far less than what he felt for even Amy.

"I have plans with everyone else for the end of this week and the weekend. I'd like to spend time with you again before the representative arrives," Harry said. "No one's given me a tour of the whole territory yet and I figured no one knows it better than you do."

"I can do that." Fenrir grinned, just as feral on his human mouth as his wolf one. "I'll be busy on Sunday evening doing last minute preparations, but anytime before then I can make time to run around with you."

"Sunday morning then."

"Can you be up at dawn?"

Harry nodded. "I'm an early riser. I don't tend to sleep much past when the sun rises."

"Good. Meet me here for the sunrise, then, and I'll show you the land as it wakes up."

Harry stood as Fenrir did and walked back with him toward the manor. They trod in silence, but it was a comfortable one. Harry wanted to move into Fenrir's space, but he stayed far enough away that their arms weren't in danger of touching. His head didn't quite come to Fenrir's shoulder line and the size difference was nice. Perhaps it made sense—Harry had always enjoyed walking with Hagrid, enjoyed the comfort of being next to someone who took up so much space so he could fit himself in the gaps left behind.

He wanted to fill Fenrir's gaps and the strength of that desire scared him more than his attraction to Charles or his interest in Amy or Caleb. Nothing good ever came out of him making rash decisions, after all.

"Goodnight," Fenrir said as they parted at the staircase.

"Night," Harry replied softly and he ruthlessly squashed the desire to follow Fenrir instead of going to his own bed.

He needed to get his emotions under control. One more visit with everyone then the Ministry's arrival would be good. He'd have space and time to think through everything rationally. He only hoped three days would be enough time. He knew werewolves courted quickly, far quicker than the years it would sometimes take wizards and witches, but the depth of his own emotions still surprised him.

Harry took a steadying breath. He'd see what the next few days brought. It was too early to be worried yet. For now, he let sleep claim him. If he dreamed of strong arms holding him… well it was only natural.


	5. Chapter 5

On Thursday evening, Harry collected a plate for dinner and joined Tony on one of the balconies. Tony set up a chess board for them and they played while they ate. They were fairly tied in ability, which made it all the more fun to play against each other.

"So who goes through the most clothes?" Harry asked as he finished his last bite of casserole. "The border patrol, I'm sure."

"Them, yes. It used to be the Quidditch addicts, until Freya decided that we needed to make a specific set of flying uniforms for them. There are a couple of teams in the pack that play against each other every month or so, so it only made sense." Tony rolled his eyes, stating quite clearly his opinion of Quidditch. "Our alpha is probably the single-most terrible to his clothes, though. He runs with the border patrol a lot, but I still don't understand how he manages to rip most of his vests just sitting in meetings. Freya thinks he gets frustrated and flexes his shoulders too much. That's usually where the tears happen."

"Huh." Harry looked down at the chess board and instructed his knight into position to check Tony's king. "Did you ever give border patrol or something else a try, or have you always worked with tailoring?"

"My mum was the very first tailor for the pack," Tony explained. "She's the one that created the pack outfit, because before that, she said, they were just living in ratty jeans and mismatched tees. So I've been helping her out since I was a pup and I guess I never got tired of it."

"That's really cool." Harry understood wanting to keep the familial connection. He still clung to any scrap of information he was given about his parents.

They were silent for a moment, engaged in a battle on the upper right corner of the board, until Tony finally admitted defeat at Harry's called checkmate.

"I like being in your company, Harry," Tony said softly, fiddling with the broken pieces of his king. "Most of the others our age are too entranced in Quidditch and pranks, which is fine for them, but it's lonely for me. I know you said you liked Quidditch too, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to find someone willing to sit down and play chess with me. Someone anywhere near my age, anyway."

"I like hanging out with you too," Harry told him honestly. "This was a lot of fun." He did enjoy Quidditch, but there was something to be said for quiet evenings too.

Tony smiled at him. "Do you think we can still do it after you reject me?"

"Tony…"

"Don't lie, please. It's obvious there's no physical attraction between us. I don't feel any sort of pull to you, other than intellectual interest in your companionship. I don't need you to string me along because you feel bad about that. If everyone was always attracted to each other, it'd be much harder for submissives to choose and settle. Werewolves bond for life, after all. We have a biological urge to cull potential mates quickly."

Harry studied Tony, studied the steadiness in his brown eyes, and nodded. "I do want to keep being your friend. I'm not sure I'll be able… my wolf will be volatile, until I'm mated, but after I want to keep hanging out with you."

"That's all I want," Tony said.

Harry said goodnight to Tony soon after and went to bed just a little sad that it hadn't worked out between them. But true friendship was just as valuable as romance and he was glad to know that he had at least that to fall back on.

The next morning, Harry met Caleb by the pond. He was dressed in an oversized T-shirt and his swimming trunks. Caleb had forgone the shirt altogether, showing off his tightly-packed muscles. He had scars too, several large ones on his back and one across his left bicep. Harry took care not to stare at them too much, but Caleb obviously noticed.

"Trophies from the war," he explained. "Come on, the water's fine."

Harry plodded into the water after Caleb. It was a perfect temperature. Harry wasn't a great swimmer, but he enjoyed it well enough. The eye candy didn't hurt either. He couldn't deny that Caleb was physically very appealing. His height, his muscles, the slight stubble on his chin, all pulled to Harry ferociously. His wolf panted inside him and Harry dove under the water to hide his blush.

Caleb was waiting for him as he resurfaced and with a great slide of his arm, he sent a wave in Harry's direction. Harry laughed, surprised, and splashed back. Soon they were engaged in a splash fight—attacking each other with waves and sprays. At one point, Caleb took a mouthful of water and actually spit it in a stream at Harry. Harry giggled so hard he hiccuped.

An hour later, they lay on the dirt-sand beach, breathing heavily. Harry watched Caleb's chest heave up and down out of the corner of his eye. He had the urge to roll over and explore the definition of Caleb's muscles with his fingers—find the crevices and taste them with his tongue. He covered his eyes with a wet arm and struggled to control his physical attraction before the tightness of his swim-trunks gave him away.

"So, do I pass?" Caleb asked, suddenly sounding a lot closer.

Harry uncovered his eyes and saw that Caleb was hovering over him—once again just out of reach. He smiled, indulgent to the teasing now. "I'll give you another try," he said lightly, but didn't move forward to touch Caleb yet. He'd told himself he was going to wait until after the Ministry visit before taking a big step like that and he was a Hufflepuff—his willpower was stronger than his lust. "After the Ministry worker leaves, you can show me how to hunt. I haven't succeeded in actually catching anything yet, but I hear you've got the record for most rabbits caught."

"Sounds like a plan." Caleb blew a stray curl out of his face and collapsed back down on his back. "I'm looking forward to it. After the Ministry takes care of business."

Harry eventually convinced his tired body to get up and he walked back into the manor for a nice shower and a change of clothes. That night, several hours after dinner, he met up with Bethany. She'd promised to show him one of her favorite parts of the manor and he wondered why she wanted it to be long after the moon had risen.

"Come on!" Bethany said, half-jogging up the stairs. "It's this way."

She led him up to the third level then all the way at the end of the east wing. There was a balcony there which she walked out on. Harry followed curiously. It didn't look that different from any of the other balconies.

"Up here," Bethany called. She climbed up the railing on the right of the balcony and grasped the edge of the lightning rod sticking out above it on the roof. With an easy heave, she pulled herself up onto the slats. "I'd offer you a hand, but…"

"I can manage," Harry said, intrigued. He waited until Bethany had scooted out of the way, then pulled himself up after her.

Bethany stood carefully, waiting until he'd done so as well, before she made her way across the slanted roof. She walked carefully, which Harry appreciated so he could follow her exact steps. She led him across the roof a couple yards and then down a small divot, until she stopped at a large triangle that overlooked the pond and grounds. There was a flat crest on top of the triangle, just large enough for two people to sit next to each other with their legs hanging over the side.

"Hope you're not afraid of heights," she said.

"Definitely not." Harry sat down next to her and gazed over the land. The stars in the sky were gorgeous from up here. Without the tree line to block his view, he could make out all the summer constellations he'd learned about from years of Astronomy.

"I found this spot when I was about eight," Bethany said. "I think I was the first person to explore the entire manor. There's a couple little secret passages I can show you sometime. Though, from what I hear, I'm sure it's nothing compared to Hogwarts."

Harry took the hint for what it was. He was prepared—he took out the Marauder's Map from his pocket. It was one of the few family heirlooms he had and he treasured it dearly. He'd only shown it to a few of his friends while at school, but he figured Bethany wouldn't have much of a chance to misuse its power so he had no problem with showing it off to her.

"Let me introduce you to Hogwarts," he said, and tapped the map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Bethany was awed by the map and begged Harry for story after story of his time at Hogwarts until it was well past when Harry would normally be in bed. There was a kind of nostalgic closure about the conversation though.

As Harry told Bethany about the time he, Ernie, and Justin caught their head of house in the Hogwarts' kitchen wearing nothing but her nightclothes, he realized that his school days were truly over. At some point over the last month and a half, Harry had truly moved on with the next stage of his life. He remembered his Hogwarts memories fondly, but he wasn't yearning to go back to those halls like he used to over the summers. Like he'd told Caleb, he'd never forget the person Hogwarts made him into, but it was just a piece of his past now and he was ready for what the future would bring.

"Man," Bethany said. "I would have loved to be a student there."

"Grass is always greener…" Harry intoned. "I found myself wishing a couple times over this last month that I'd grown up with the pack, if only so I didn't have as much to catch up on. But our experiences make us who we are and if you're happy with yourself, doesn't that mean you must be happy with your experiences?"

Bethany huffed out a little laugh. "I guess that's true. Doesn't mean I can't dream, though."

"No, that's true too."

Eventually, Harry had to beg off to bed. Bethany walked him back to the balcony and made sure he got down safely.

The next morning, Harry hated himself for having stayed up so late. He'd made plans to meet Amy for breakfast, but he was tired enough that it was hard to keep his eyes open. He ended up drinking one of his supplies of Pepper Up because it wasn't fair to Amy to be exhausted when talking to her.

They ate out on the grass over a picnic blanket Amy had transfigured for them out of a butterfly. As a result, it had a gorgeous purple and black pattern on it which Harry stroked his hand over—silken threads caressing his fingertips.

"Remus tells me you're a prodigy in Defense," Amy said. "Many of the older pack members are vicious in battle magic, but few took the time to hone their skills further once the war was over."

"I'm a pretty boring duelist, or so my classmates always said," Harry admitted. "I have just a couple spells I fall back on when I'm fighting. But for warding and protection charms and stuff like that… I specialize in those things."

"I imagine. A corporal patronus at thirteen?"

Harry smiled, a little embarrassed that Remus had been gossiping about him. "My first, yeah. I formed my second just before I turned sixteen."

Amy stared at him. "Do you mean your second time making your patronus corporal, or that you actually have two different corporal patroni?"

"Um, the latter." Harry scratched his cheek, knowing they were bright red now. "The summer before my sixth year at Hogwarts, I was attacked by some rogue dementors. I wake up early so I was exploring Diagon Alley waiting for most of the shops to open up. From what they told me, a couple of dementors had broken loose of the subservience charms they keep them under and ended up fleeing to Knockturn Alley. Anyway, I was near the entrance and they sensed me and thought I'd be an easy snack."

"But you weren't."

"No, I wasn't."

Amy hesitated. "Would it be too forward for me to ask…"

Harry drew his wand. "I don't mind showing them off." He searched for a strong enough happy memory. He usually relied on things like winning the Quidditch Cup with his housemates or when Hagrid gifted him the photo album of his parents. He thought about using winning the House Cup as he left Hogwarts, but instead the memory that came to him was of meeting Fenrir—of realizing that he could become a werewolf and join Fenrir's pack.

" _Expecto Patronum_."

Two silver creatures burst from his wand. A large stag and a graceful doe galloped together across the grass and came to a stop by the picnic blanket.

"My dad was an animagus, the stag. He was the first patronus I created. When the doe came to help fight off the dementors, I realized she had to represent my mum." Harry touched Prongs's snout and smiled as Lily nosed his hair.

"That's beautiful," Amy whispered. "Your parents protect you even know. You must be thrilled to still have this connection to them."

"More than you can imagine." Harry gently dismissed the patroni and they faded away with one last nuzzle.

When Harry looked back at Amy, he saw her directing a soft smile he way. It was lovely, that smile, and his heart skipped a beat. He cleared his throat. "So, how did the meeting about the OWLs and NEWTs go?"

Amy sighed. "As frustrating as usual. It's as if the Department of Education can't comprehend that the pups could get enough of an education here to pass even their OWLs, much less achieve NEWT level. Unfortunately, without the resources Hogwarts has, we are limited. I'm a Master of Transfiguration and Remus is entirely capable of sitting for a Defense Mastery if he wanted to. I've got a couple good Potions makers, but that's about it. The Charms exams are fickle and most of the pups don't see a point in learning a wide array of simple spells and theory just to pass that OWL. And don't even get me started on History."

"What about the others? Care of Non-Humanoid Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes and all that?"

"If I could get someone willing to instruct them, I would, but no one in the pack has taken up to NEWTs levels for any of those. Well, Freya got an A on her Arithmancy NEWTs. I got her to help me design some basic lessons, but I don't try to teach past OWLs level for that."

"I can help," Harry offered. "I took Charms, Care, and History at the NEWTs level. Honestly, History was my worst class, but I did well on the OWL at least so I can take a look at your syllabus for that. And no one really requires History NEWT for anything unless you want to be a historian. I'm not nearly as good at Charms as my mum was, but Flitwick was a great teacher and his lessons are fresh enough in my mind. And I was great at Care. Though… Remus always combined Care with his Defense lessons, so surely he can help with that."

Amy huh'd. "I never asked him about it, but that would be nice. It's certainly a type of class that would be both practical for our lifestyle here, and keep the pups interested. How about Herbology? That's another one I want to expand."

"The Herbology professor at Hogwarts was my Head of House and I know she'd be willing to look over a syllabus if I asked her. There's enough plants around here that I'm sure you can make some practical lessons out of that too. And it's easy enough to combine with Potions, if you get those Potions makers you have to help. My favorite Potions lessons were the ones where we had to grow our own ingredients in Herbology then use them."

"Great idea." Amy drew out a small leather notebook from her back pocket and began jotting down notes. "I'll have to commandeer a day of your time at some point so we can deconstruct and reconstruct some syllabi. I'd like your opinions on the Transfiguration and Defense ones as well."

"Of course. Those are my strongest subjects, so I'd be happy to. I think…" Harry hesitated. "Well, I don't know if I'd be any good at it, but I'd like to try teaching a couple lessons to, if you'll have me."

"Definitely! I'd like to have you shadow a couple of lessons first so you get a sense of how we do it here, but I'd love to see you bring in your Hogwarts experience as well. Remus was great at that, but then he was only there for a year compared to your seven."

Harry continued to talk education with Amy. He appreciated how she respected his ideas, gently correcting him when he said a naive thought but otherwise taking note of everything he told her about his experiences at Hogwarts. By lunch time, they were both ravenous just from working their brains so much.

Harry said goodbye to Amy, leaving her furiously scribbling in her notebook over a quick lunch, and went to find Charles and his daughter.

Karla was eight years old and had the same blue eyes as her dad. Her hair was blond and tied in a messy braid down her back. When she spotted Harry, she ran forward.

"Hi! My name is Karla. Can I hug you?" she said in one great rush.

Harry laughed. There was no rule against Charles's pup touching him, so he held out his arms and nearly collapsed under the weight of an enthusiastic eight-year-old. Charles walked up, then, giving them both an indulgent smile.

"I told you she was excited to meet you," he said. "Karla, sweetheart, don't crush him."

"'M not," she muttered into Harry's shoulder.

"It's fine," Harry added, propping the girl up higher on his hip. It felt nice to hold her. She was fairly small for her age, and obviously affectionate. It reminded Harry of the times he'd helped out with the younger kids at the orphanage.

Charles grabbed lunch plates for all three of them, taking note about Harry's preferences as they walked the line. Harry let Karla sit in his lap as they ate. She chatted at him, asking questions about Diagon Alley and Hogwarts and ridiculous things like if he'd ever flown on the back of a dragon. Harry answered all her questions, more charmed with her as each second passed, and every time he looked up at Charles he saw fondness reflected back at him.

After lunch, they walked out into the yard. He and Charles exchanged a glance and without a word teamed up to chase Karla around the grounds. She giggled and shrieked. As a young werewolf, she didn't quite have control over her shifts yet and frequently tumbled back and forth between forms. As a wolf, she was white like her dad, with feet too large for her body and flopping ears.

Finally, Karla curled up for an exhausted nap and Harry collapsed next to her, still grinning. Charles stroked his daughter's hair contently.

"Can I ask about her?" Harry asked after he'd caught his breath.

Charles didn't answer for a moment. Finally, he said, "I was born into a small pack, but despite our size we were recruited into the war. It was a chance for all werewolves to claim some power that had been denied to us. I don't regret my part in that fight, but I regret that the circumstances ended with the death of most of my pack. The ones remaining, like myself, wandered in broken fragments."

Harry dropped his gaze, focusing on Karla's peaceful, sleeping face.

"I found myself in a new pack along the Northern Irish shore. They were wary of me. Perhaps they had a right to be. I was arrogant then, and hurt. I fought well in the war and didn't quite know what was left for me without the fury of battle. One of the submissives of the pack called to me, and I to her, but the alpha still wasn't convinced that she wanted me in her pack."

"How long were you with them?"

"I spent two years wandering after the war, then four years on the edge of that pack, wanting to belong but never quite comfortable. I was denied courtship rites for Rebecca, the submissive I wanted, and she denied anyone else who courted her. Finally, in a moment of stupidity though I find I can't regret it since it brought me her," he brushed a golden lock out of Karla's face, "we ended up falling into bed."

From what Harry had been told, sex was what initiated the bond between werewolves. "How did you not…?"

"We did. It was a half-bond, though. I doubt anyone told you, but the initial bonding is not all that creates the connection. It has to be shored up over the weeks that follow or it fails to take completely. Our alpha was enraged and banished me from the pack. I can't blame her for it. I slept with Rebecca without following proper courting protocols."

"But you weren't allowed to!" Harry's sense of fairness flared up angrily. "That's not your fault."

"If you'd known me in those days, you would have been just as wary as she was. I was different then. Having my daughter changed me in only good ways. Without her, I doubt I would have settled. Most of the best fighters during the war went one of two ways. Either they found a reason for peace, like myself, like Fenrir and and our betas, or they went feral. I came closer than I like to admit to the latter."

"But you didn't." Harry wanted so badly to reach forward and touch Charles's hand, to give him comfort.

"Rebecca died in childbirth. She was weak already from fighting off the effects of the half-bond and refused to be soothed by her pack. The alpha allowed me to take my daughter, perhaps to atone for some of the mistakes she made. I think it shook her, Rebecca's death, as much as it shook me. I'm only grateful that Fenrir took me in, or I'm not sure I would have had the strength to survive with a broken half-bond and a newborn to care for. This pack saved my life and it saved hers."

"Thank you for telling me." Harry nearly apologized for asking, but it would cheapen the trust Charles had shown him if he did. Still, he said, "I'm sorry that you lost her."

"As am I." Charles sighed. "But I'm not sorry that I made my way here. This pack is better for me. Fenrir, and even Ivo and Remus, understand me more than my previous alpha ever could have. Amy does an amazing job teaching the pups, which will give Karla more opportunities than she would have been afforded otherwise. My time with Rebecca was a foolish dream and she payed the price for our mistakes. I can only atone by making sure Karla never has to suffer for it."

"I admire you for that."

Charles smiled at him. "I'm not sure I deserve your admiration, but I appreciate it nonetheless."

Harry ended up curling up on the other side of Karla, calmed by the child's soft breathing, and together the three of them took a nap in the grass. When he woke up, stomach rumbling for dinner, he saw Charles watching him and Karla with bittersweet longing in his eyes.

Harry wanted to give this to Charles, wanted to reach up and kiss him gently. He knew Charles would respect him, knew Karla would be delighted, but still he held himself back. His desire for a family was overwhelming, but it wouldn't be fair to Charles or Karla if he acted rashly. So he kissed Karla on the temple instead, bid Charles an good evening, and headed off to dinner alone.

The next morning, Harry rose before the first birds had begun to sing and got dressed quickly. He jogged down the stairs and out to Fenrir's boulder. Fenrir was already there waiting on him.

"Sorry if I'm late," Harry said.

Fenrir flashed his teeth. "We can make it if we run."

Harry barely had time to think about what that statement meant before Fenrir had shifted into his wolfskin. Harry followed suit and within one second and the next, Fenrir dashed off. Harry chased after him.

It was just barely dawn, the world swathed by grays. Harry focused on the silver fur he chased through the forest—jumping over, sliding under, and dodging the foliage as they ran. His heartbeat threatened to burst out of his chest from exhaustion, but he didn't let himself slow down.

Just as Harry thought he'd have to stop, Fenrir slowed. With a flick of his ears, he told Harry to be careful. Dropping to his belly, Fenrir stalked through the bushes. Harry tried to do the same, but he was clumsy and loud. He winced with every crackle of leaves. Fenrir looked back at him once and there was a challenge in his eyes. Harry concentrated on making his steps as quiet as he could.

Finally, Fenrir stopped in the gap between a large shrub and a tree trunk. The rules for touching in their wolfskin was less stringent, so Harry slip up against Fenrir's side to see what he had stopped for.

Before them was a beautiful grotto nestled in the hillside. Trees covered it from above, but where Fenrir had positioned them, Harry could see the subtle entrance and just make out the sparkling natural spring inside. As the sun crested over the land, it seemed as though the grotto itself began to wake up.

The first to come were a colony of pixies. Harry flattened himself to the ground, knowing pixies could be nasty, but they flitted about without a care—dipping in to take a drink of the grotto's water. Then came the deer, led by a magnificent stag with at least eight-points on his antlers. Harry whined low as he saw them. Fenrir looked at him, but he just shook his head and continued to watch.

The rabbits came as the deer were still drinking, then the possums and squirrels. A fox slunk into the mix, but not even the small prey gave it a second thought. Above them, birds began to chirps their morning greetings and a song filled the air.

Then, just as the dawn had fully risen, a small herd of unicorns joined the little party. The stallion's horn was nearly three feet long. One of the mares nudged along a foal, bright gold in color and small enough that he had to have been newly born. Harry's breath caught in his throat as he watched the other animals make way for them.

Fenrir shifted and then stood. Harry scrambled to follow. He led them into the grotto, slowly and carefully. The animals watched them, but didn't scatter. At the water's edge, Fenrir bowed his head to the unicorn stallion. The stallion nodded back and then, to Harry's amazement, dipped his horn and touched the water. With a swell of magic and a faint scent of lilies, the already clear pool became crystal-like in its quality.

After a few more mouthfuls of drink, the unicorn herd took off, followed by the other animals until Fenrir and Harry were alone in the grotto. Fenrir shifted back to his human form and Harry joined him. They knelt together for a few minutes in silence.

"Thank you," Harry whispered. "Thank you for letting me see that."

Fenrir looked down at the sparkling water below him. "At the height of the war, this spring was red with blood. The land here was contested between too many factions and copious ambushes staged inside the forest corrupted the natural magic of this place. Once, I thought I'd never see the grotto look like this again… like it did when I was a pup playing here."

"But the land healed," Harry stated. "It's so gorgeous, Fenrir."

"It is." Fenrir took a deep breath. "I would do anything to keep this place alive like it is, to keep my pack peaceful in its borders. It's our duty to help guard this land, to prevent corruption from seeping to it again. I take that duty very seriously."

Harry doubted there was anyone in the pack who didn't see that. "You've done an amazing job. Your pack has faith in you."

"Do you?" Harry stilled. Fenrir looked up and caught his gaze. "You're the newest member of my pack. Do you already have faith in me?"

"How can I not?" Harry murmured. "You've given me no reason to doubt you."

Fenrir smiled and reached forward, aborting the motion halfway through so that his hand fell in the gap between them. "Is that the famed Hufflepuff loyalty coming into play?"

"No," Harry said honestly. "You'll know Hufflepuff loyalty when you see it. This is just you, what you've built, and what you've let me see. I wouldn't have to be a Hufflepuff to be grateful to you for the pack you made."

Fenrir stood and Harry felt a thrum of embarrassment course through their pack bond. He grinned to himself and followed Fenrir out of the grotto.

They shifted back into their wolfskins and Fenrir proceeded to take Harry on a running tour of the land. They bounded through the hills and the forests, stopping at certain clearings and rocky outcrops to take in the sights. It took them several hours, but they eventually looped around a good portion of the forest. Eventually, Fenrir pointed them back in what Harry could feel was the direction of home.

As they ran, a glimmer caught the corner of Harry's gaze. He stopped, entranced by it. It was a rainbow, shimmering in the open air. Harry padded toward it, caught by the smell of fresh-cut flowers and the metallic tang of metal.

An angry bark snapped him out of it. Harry pushed the wolf away and gasped as he ended up back in human skin. He sat against the ground, shivering.

Beside him, Fenrir also shifted back. "You okay?" he asked gruffly.

"What was that?"

"Leprechaun tricks. Combination of glamour and scents can entrance most creatures if done right. There's a reason I call them dangerous. To most wizards and Muggles, they're an annoyance, but to those of us with enhanced senses, they can entangle and even kill with their  _pranks_."

Harry rubbed his eyes and looked back to the glimmer. It wasn't there anymore. He squinted, searched, and caught a hint of a rainbow along the nearest tree, but that was it.

"We're close to the nest," Fenrir muttered. "That trap was too sophisticated to be anything but a precaution against one of us finding their hideout. It takes a lot of their magic to make a rainbow cloud."

"What should we do?" Harry asked.

Fenrir raised an eyebrow in his direction. " _You_ should run back and get me Ivo and Remus. I'll stalk out their exact location and be ready for when they get here."

Harry bristled. "Sorry, but it sounds like you want me to abandon you for the next hour, because even if I sprint back to the manor we're a good thirty minutes away. Meanwhile, you plan on wandering around risking yourself against more of these traps?"

"No leprechaun clan is going to be enough to kill me. I was renowned in the war before your parents had even graduated Hogwarts."

"Don't condescend me because of my age," Harry growled. "I know your capable, but it's just plain stupid to leave yourself without backup. If you're so sure of your abilities to fight off this nest by yourself, then do so, but let me be here in case something goes wrong."

Fenrir rose to his full height, but Harry refused to be intimidated. Still, his voice was menacing as he spoke. "I am your alpha. You may be new to pack life, Harry, but when I give a command, I expect you to follow it."

"I'll follow your commands when I know they aren't patronizing. You want me to run and get help so I'll feel useful, meanwhile you expect to have defeated the nest by the time I get back with the betas. The only reason I can think you'd want me to do that is so I'm out of harm's way. Well, bugger that! I am entirely capable of being your backup against a nest of  _leprechauns_."

Fenrir stared at him. Harry took a couple angry breaths and then slowly lowered his shoulders. He began to feel ridiculous for his outburst and he dropped his gaze.

"Harry," Fenrir said, much softer than their previous tones had been. "How did you know what I'd intended?"

Harry nearly rolled his eyes, thinking it was obvious, and then he stopped. Because it wasn't obvious, was it? On the surface, it seemed entirely reasonable that Fenrir would wait and scout a bit while Harry got more experienced help. So how had Harry known that Fenrir hadn't planned on waiting for the help to arrive? How had Harry realized that Fenrir was confident enough to take care of the nest on his own, but nervous enough that he wanted Harry out of harm's way while he did so?

"I don't know," Harry replied. "I just… did. I guess, maybe our pack bond?"

Fenrir stared at him a minute longer, then he huffed. "Only Ivo's bond with me is strong enough for him to get that amount of read-through. Why is it that a newly-made werewolf, who joined my pack less than two months ago, can match my first beta?"

Harry didn't answer, but now that he knew what he was looking for, he could tell that it was a rhetorical question anyway. Fenrir thought he knew the answer:  _Because he's made for me, born to be my submissive_.

"You don't know that," Harry whispered, speaking to the unspoken words.

Fenrir sighed and Harry felt the energy of their open bond lessen, as if Fenrir were making a conscious choice to hold himself back. "I guess I don't," he agreed.

Harry rubbed his chest, feeling strangely empty inside without the echo of Fenrir's emotions. "Will you let me help you?"

"Will you let me protect you?" Fenrir countered.

"I'll stay behind you," Harry said, because he could admit that Fenrir had far more experience than he did. "But let me take care of myself, okay?"

Fenrir nodded once. "Fine." Without another word, he stalked off in the direction of the rainbow.


	6. Chapter 6

Fenrir held his wand in a loose, secure grip. He couldn't help but focus too much of his senses on Harry walking behind him. The foolish boy walked like a deer—too loud and too hesitant, a terrible combination. Fenrir would have to teach him to walk through the woods like the predator he was instead.

The leprechaun nest was easy to find, now that Harry had stumbled onto one of their inner traps. Fenrir slipped around another rainbow cloud. He could see the glimmering color in the air and smell the noxious gases that would have entranced him were he completely focusing with his enhanced senses. It was far easier to ensnare leprechauns in human form, less risk of being trapped, but Fenrir had spent too many years training his senses to bleed through so he was vulnerable as a human as well.

Perhaps Harry had made a valid point about him facing them alone.

Then again, Fenrir would never allow himself to be embarrassed like that. To be defeated by mere leprechauns after years of war and politics… it would be mortifying.

Fenrir caught a hint of laughter ahead and quickly motioned for Harry to stop. He raised his wand and cast a simple bubble charm around his head, then disillusioned himself, making sure to mentally key in his companion so that Harry would be able to see him. Glancing back to cast the same spells, he was surprised to see that Harry had already copied him. Harry cocked an eyebrow at him and Fenrir couldn't help but huff in amusement. Fine, he got the message. He'd focus on the hunt ahead, not on the hunter he had with him.

Hidden now, Fenrir stalked up to the groove where the leprechauns had taken over. The floor was clear, but just at Fenrir's head height there was a border of rainbow shimmer that marked the start of the nest. Leprechauns lived in clouds, but they needed an anchor to the ground or they'd drift needlessly in the air.

Fenrir raised his wand and murmured the spell to summon mist—pulling just enough power to condense the water in the groove's air but no further into the forest. The clearing filled with light fog, fracturing the rainbow's power across the whole space. He held up his hand and began to count down for Harry's benefit. Five, four, three, two, one…

The first of the screeches sounded. Two leprechauns zoomed down from their cloud nest, sliding across the rainbow until they reached the broken fragments of their anchor. Fenrir stunned them before they could do much more than yell. With another murmured spell, he condensed a section of the mist into a proper cloud and used it to bind the two together against a tree. Clouds were physical forces to leprechauns and few things held them as well.

Something hard hit him on the back of the head, not quite sharp enough to break skin but close. He growled and turned, but Harry had already stunned the leprechaun who'd smacked him with a chunk of fool's gold.

"Let me do this part," Harry said. "I don't know what spell your using to bind them, but I can cast a stunner well enough."

Fenrir nearly argued, but more leprechauns were flooding the clearing now—the entire nest coming down in force. With faster reflexes than he would have expected, he saw Harry fire five stunners in quick succession, taking down four leprechauns.

There wasn't time to argue and though the leprechauns couldn't do much damage with their magic dampened, they could still attempt to physically hurt them. So Fenrir bound the leprechauns as Harry stunned them, keeping the process quick so their fellows wouldn't awaken the prone figures.

Harry's form was beautiful. It wasn't textbook perfect, like Fenrir would have expected from a Defense prodigy. Instead, he fought like a soldier. He didn't have the same wild-eyed paranoia of a warrior, he'd never gone through war like Fenrir, but his aim was smooth and for every miss he made, he was already halfway through casting the next spell. He didn't hesitate, didn't flinch, just cast.

Then three leprechauns joined hands and began to chant—joining power to overcome the dampening effect of the mist around them. Fenrir, in the middle of condensing another piece of cloud, shouted out a warning.

But Harry's  _protego_ was bright and vibrant. It looked like a corporal silver wall and it repelled the blast of molten gold as if it were merely a spray of water. The gold fell to the ground in chunks, clinking as it hit the grass, and before the last piece settled, Harry had stunned the three attackers and another leprechaun beside them.

Fenrir breathed in the sterilized air of his bubblehead charm and calmed himself. For the first time since Harry had argued to stay, Fenrir let himself relax. Harry, it was obvious, could indeed take care of himself.

Less distracted now, Fenrir morphed huge handfuls of mist into clouds and swathed the leprechauns, impeding their movement. Together, he and Harry cornered the remaining members of the nest until all two dozen of them lay unconscious in a cage of fluff. Then, in what Fenrir could admit was a flashy move, he waved away the remains of the mist up and into the sky so that it shattered the rainbow bridge and left the pieces floating away in the breeze.

"Will you teach me how to do that?" Harry asked, his wand still fixed on the captured leprechauns. "Professor Flitwick always told me that weather magic was too dangerous to teach in school, but that was amazing!"

"It is dangerous," Fenrir said. "Hard to control, easy for the magic to get out of hand, but yeah, I can teach you. You've certainly earned the right to try."

Harry blushed and though Fenrir had never been charmed by false modesty, he was charmed by the sight of Harry's red cheeks. Before he could get himself in trouble by attempting to touch the submissive again, he lifted the cloud cage with a quick spell and set off toward the manor.

-o-

The pack surrounded Harry and Fenrir as they arrived back in the grounds. So many of them rushed to speak at once that Harry couldn't make out a single sentence amongst the noise. Fenrir grumbled, but stood complacently as the gammas all rubbed up against him, joyous in the victory.

"I hope you took good notes," Ivo said to Harry as he walked up. "The pack's going to be clamoring for the full story soon."

Fenrir grunted, "I think he was too busy stunning the buggers to take much notes, mental or not."

The noise level rose dramatically as those words sank in. Harry blushed, not sure if he liked the sudden attention on him. He wasn't surprised that the pack had assumed Fenrir did most of the work, but now that they were crowding around him too he kind of wished Fenrir hadn't said anything.

When a couple younger gammas tried to rub against him like they had Fenrir, though, his inner wolf reared up suddenly and violently. Harry let out a fierce growl, somewhat surprised his human mouth was even capable of making such a noise.

The gammas all backed away, most averting their gaze in submission.

"They didn't mean any harm," Ivo said, though he, too, stayed a few steps back.

Misaki pushed her way through the crowd. "Doesn't matter, you idiots, he's still an unclaimed submissive in his courting period." She rolled her eyes. "Whichever dominants were foolish enough to touch him better stay out of his way for the next week or so and let his wolf calm down. Clear?"

"Yes, Beta!" the pack chorused.

Harry looked over the crowd, irrationally annoyed with the lot of them. His eyes fell on Fenrir and the anger slowly faded. Fenrir stared steadily back at him. Harry took a couple breaths, taking in the scent of pack around him, and slowly he calmed down.

"Give him some space," Fenrir told the pack. "Ivo, Caleb, take care of these buggers. I don't want to see them on my territory again. The rest of you, back to your duties. You can beg for gossip later."

The group dispersed. Harry continued to watch Fenrir a minute longer, until he remembered himself and turned away. Waiting patiently a few yards behind them, Emily stood with two broomsticks and an extra set of flying robes. Her mouth was twisted in a strange little smile, but when she saw Harry looking it vanished and she simply held up the extra broom for him.

Flying was exactly the distraction Harry needed. He ignored the wolf inside him who whined at the thought of turning his back on Fenrir for a different suitor. He wasn't ready to admit anything yet—even if Harry wanted to celebrate their victory by moving into Fenrir's space and kissing that feral grin off his face, he wasn't going to give into the temptation.

"Cleansweep?" Harry grimaced as he took in the brooms Emily held. "I'll compete with you on those, so it's fair, but let me show off my baby.  _Accio_ Nimbus 2000!"

Emily let out a little gasp-groan as Harry's broom shot out his bedroom window and into his hand. "Ooh, I keep begging our alpha and betas to let us buy better brooms. Nimbus 2000s are affordable now since the 2001 and the Firebolt are out… but I've never gotten the chance to use one before."

"It was a birthday present from my housemates to try to convince me to join the Quidditch team," Harry admitted.

"You didn't play with your team? I thought you were a seeker?"

"I am, when I do pick-up games, but I like flying more than the competition and I had enough on my plate with the classes I was taking, so I never really joined the team. I did play reserve seeker some years when they needed me, but that's all."

Emily frowned. "Oh."

Harry supposed to a Quidditch addict, his choice would seem strange, but while he enjoyed the sport, he wasn't in love with it. So, he distracted Emily by holding out his broom and asking, "Wanna give it a go?"

Emily grinned and took the offer.

They took turns playing around on his Nimbus, doing tricks and dives and sharp turns, until the adrenaline had faded. Harry really did enjoy flying, it calmed him like little else could, but seeker games were fun too. Eventually, they both mounted the Cleansweeps and Emily released an old, beat-up snitch for them to chase.

Harry won twelve of the fifteen matches before Emily proclaimed defeat. "I understand why your housemates tried to bribe you onto the team!" she exclaimed as she wiped her sweaty brow. "You're spectacular."

Harry shrugged. He was fast and had a good sight for subtle movement, but that was all. "I'm nothing on Viktor Krum. Did you know he was at Hogwarts while I was a fourth year?"

Emily shook her head and Harry began to launch into the tale of the Triwizard Tournament—a real point of pride for him since the golden boy of his house, Cedric Diggory, had won the competition—but just then there was a long howl. It was a warning from the outside border patrol. Strangers were at the boundary of their territory.

Harry exchanged a glance with Emily. They were both mounted on the brooms and without a word they took off in the direction of the howl. On the ground below them, Harry could see the wolf forms of Fenrir and Erin racing to confront the trouble.

They arrived at the scene, the front gate that led to the manor, and immediately Harry understood what had happened. A tall man with braided red hair and a dragon's fang earring stood to the right. It was Bill Weasley, the pack's second ambassador. Harry had followed Bill's career by interrogating his brother, Ron, at several points during his sixth and seventh year—ever since Ron had proclaimed loudly to the Great Hall that his brother had been assigned as an ambassador to Britain's largest pack.

The other person was a woman dressed in bright pink robes. She had a flat jaw and large, gleaming eyes. She smelled like floral perfume—sickeningly strong enough that it made its way up to where Harry and Emily hovered in the sky. Harry sneezed.

Fenrir shifted back into human form and stepped forward to greet the two. "Bill," he said first. "Wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."

"Sorry, sir," Bill said. "Madam Umbridge was convinced you'd appreciate her arriving early."

Harry noticed the apologetic slope of his shoulders and the slight tilt that showed off his throat. Bill knew what he was doing—even if he wasn't a werewolf, he was showing off all the proper signs to apologize to an alpha. The lady, Umbridge, must not have given him any warning before heading to the manor.

Fenrir nodded once, just enough to show Bill that he was let off the hook, and turned to the Ministry employee. "Madam Umbridge," he greeted, but there was nothing cordial about his tone. "I suppose your just in time for dinner."

"Oh, no thank you," the woman simpered. "Raw meat doesn't sit well with me, you understand. I brought my own food." She tapped her small pink purse with a smile.

Erin let out a subvocal growl. Harry shifted uncomfortably on the broom. Surely an employee for the Department of Magical Creature Regulation should know that werewolves ate cooked food just like wizards and witches? Next to him, Emily flattened herself down as if she could drift away without anyone noticing.

Fenrir didn't react to the insult, though Harry felt his simmering anger through their pack bond. "Then I'll show you to your rooms."

"Fabulous. I need a little time to freshen up before I get my tour." Umbridge's grin widened. "Hem, hem. Though since I showed up unannounced, I'm sure you had other plans for this evening." Her gaze moved up and Harry froze as she caught sight of him. "Maybe that fine young gentlemen there can show me around?"

There was no way it was a coincidence, and Harry almost wished Fenrir would decline for him. But Fenrir raised his head and met Harry's gaze instead. The bond between them opened, as if Fenrir were deliberately pushing his emotions forward. Harry got then that Fenrir did need more time to prepare, that he didn't want Umbridge interfering with the field trip Amy had taken the pups on across the grounds—just one example of countless small things Fenrir had running around his head that he needed to adjust and quickly.

Beside, as they'd already talked about, Umbridge was interested in Harry because of the circumstances of him joining the pack. He was bound to have to interact with her at some point, why not get it over with?

Harry took a breath and plastered on a pleasant smile. "I'd love to, Madam Umbridge," he said. "Just let me get a quick shower first? I'll be ready before you finish inspecting your rooms."

He wasn't going to let the woman find any fault in him—he'd wipe off the sweat and grime, because hunting leprechauns and playing Quidditch hadn't been kind to his cleanliness, and then be ready to face whatever sugary insults she threw his way.

He turned his broom and headed back to the manor before Umbridge could reply. Emily quickly followed him, but Harry didn't have the concentration to pay her much thought at the moment. He waved goodbye to her absentmindedly and ran to the shower.

-o-

Harry made sure to start inside the manor; by then everyone had been warned about the visitor but it would take longer for the werewolves on the grounds to get themselves situated. Bill walked with them and his mere presence was a relief to Harry's irritated nerves.

Umbridge just didn't seem capable of being inoffensive. The first thing she asked Harry was whether or not it had been hard getting used to using the woods instead of flushing toilets. "I noticed there was a lovely bathroom off my rooms, of course, but then it's only proper to not expect guests to have to go without true civilization while they visit, isn't it?"

It only got worse from there. She was shocked that the manor hosted house elves and seemed to think the bookshelves in the lounges were just for decoration. As they moved from inside the manor to the grounds, she made a show of looking before she stepped and at one point asked if the house elves were in charge of cleaning up all the wolf poop.

Harry took a fortifying breath, just so he wouldn't let out a growl. "We have conscious thought in our wolf forms, Madam Umbridge. There are designated areas to use the loo so we don't over-pollute the grass here."

"What, like a smoking area. But for going number two?" Bill grinned. "Brilliant."

More like, if one of them needed to go to the bathroom, they either transformed back into human form and went to the manor or they walked further into the woods where the wildlife decomposed the feces far quicker than on the lawn. But still, Harry appreciated Bill's attempt at humor so he smiled back.

Finally, the tour ended, and Harry made to say goodbye to Umbridge. She grabbed onto his arm to stop him from leaving.

Harry's wolf reared up, snapping and growling. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Angie start toward them, likely hoping to mitigate disaster.

But Umbridge wasn't a dominant wolf, she was just an annoyance, and while Harry wanted to rip her throat out… he could control himself. His wolf may be a little more unsettled because he was in his courting period, but it wasn't the same sudden instinct to attack that he'd felt when the dominant gammas had brushed up against him earlier.

"Hem, hem. Wait now, dear," Umbridge said. "Before you go running off to frolic with your little friends, I'd like to ask you a couple personal questions? For investigative purposes, you understand. The Ministry can't help your pack if we don't know the situation it's in. And, from what I understand, you were recently turned, yes? So you have a unique perspective on what the pack needs."

The pack didn't need anything, especially Ministry interference. Except… well, that wasn't entirely true. Harry realized that they did need to play nice with the Ministry or risk public opinion changing again. They were allowed the freedom they got on this land and in this manor because werewolves didn't need to live in hiding anymore. Several wolves of the pack did consulting jobs in the wizarding world which helped contribute to the overall wealth of the pack—meaning they could afford things like the materials for flying clothes and dishes charmed not to break when thrown about by energetic younglings.

So, though all Harry wanted to do was transform and let his wolf run wild to dissipate his anger, his sense of duty was strong enough for him to control himself. Harry was a Hufflepuff and Hufflepuffs were stubborn.

"Of course, I can spare some time," Harry said. "What do you want to know?"

Umbridge's smile widened, until Harry was uncomfortably reminded of a toad about to catch its prey unaware. "You came to this pack just after graduating Hogwarts, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"By my records, you were one of the top academics from your graduating year. What possessed you to give up on your prospects?"

Harry could say so many things—could say that he hadn't given up on his prospects, that he'd only delved deeper into them, but he knew Umbridge wouldn't understand his perspective. So instead, he said, "I'm an orphan. Growing up in Riddle's Home for Magical Orphans was nice, in comparison to what my childhood could have been, but I still longed for a family. You understand that feeling, don't you, Madam Umbridge?"

She simpered, "Well, of course, dear. It's perfectly natural for a child."

The implication that Harry wasn't a child anymore and should have moved on to more rational pursuits was clear. Harry had the feeling Umbridge was the kind of woman who insulted those who made the choice to stay home with their family, despite Harry's opinion that it was a perfectly valid and respectable.

Harry ignored the implication and kept going. "Remus Lupin was always my favorite professor, even only being at Hogwarts a year. I fancied him something of a father figure, though it sounds silly to say now. I confessed to him that I'd always been interested in werewolves and in pack life, because it seemed like such a big family."

"It seemed that way, but you've discovered differently now?"

Harry hated the number of traps he could see in that question. He searched for the best thing to say. "It is different, but not in a bad way. It's less about the whole pack being a family and more like we're a community that includes smaller family units. Which is fine, because I can still find myself a family here."

"But you could have found yourself a family among your fellow wizards and witches."

"I suppose." Harry didn't like how the conversation was turning, so he quickly said, "But I did agree to the bite and I don't regret it, so that's the situation I'm in now."

"Hem, hem." Umbridge tapped her purse with her brightly-pained fingernails, but said nothing more.

Glad he'd managed to shut her up, Harry quickly said his goodbyes and left Bill to deal with the pink toad.

-o-

Harry spent the next few days hanging out primarily in the submissive-only lounge. He ended up spending most of his time with the younger submissive gammas, because the beta submissives were so busy with the visit. A wolf named Yusef became his first submissive friend in his age range. He was unmated, having rejected the prospects that had come during his first courting period a year before, and hadn't yet gained the courage to open it up again.

"What's so scary about it?" Harry asked him.

"Doesn't it intimidate you, spending so much alone time with dominants?" Yusef asked.

They were curled up on one of the loveseats together and Harry had the sudden urge to stroke Yusef's hair. He was more than a year younger than the other, but he felt strangely protective of him.

"What about them are intimidating?" Harry pressed. "You have all the power during your courtship."

"But that doesn't stop the looks, like I can feel them undressing me with their eyes. I just… all they seem to want is to own us. I don't want to be  _owned_."

"No, of course not." Harry frowned. "It doesn't sound like you had good prospects. I didn't accept anyone past the first night who acted like that."

"But… you have seven!"

"Is that a lot?" Harry hadn't realized. "There were a couple dozen the first night."

Yusef groaned. "I only had five interested in me, total, and I accepted four of them during that full moon. But… well, none of them respected me at all."

"That's awful." Harry scratched his chin. "We should talk to Gideon. He rejected everyone during his initial period too. I'm sure he'll have some ideas for you."

"You think so?"

Yusef seemed excited about the possibility, so Harry pulled him up. "Yeah, I'm sure he will. Come on, let's go find him. I'm sure he'll appreciate a break from whatever he's been running around worrying about."

Harry and Yusef wandered through the manor, trying to find the beta submissive. They passed by a small group including Fenrir, Remus, and Umbridge, but no Gideon. Eventually, they found him in one of the smaller sitting rooms, hanging out with his brother and Bill.

"Harry!" Gideon greeted. "And… Yusef, right? Come in and join us. We were just catching up with our little nephew, here."

"Nephew?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Bill's the son of our sister," Fabian said. "How's Molly doing, anyway?"

"Pretty well, I'd say. Now that Ginny, she's the youngest," Bill said for Yusef's sake, "is going to be of-age soon, Mum's looking for things to occupy her time. She's been talking to Dumbledore about opening up a larger primary school day program for kids to go to before Hogwarts."

"That'd be awesome," Harry said. He'd gotten some preliminary education at Riddle's Home but not nearly enough. He had a lot he had to catch up on in terms of basic reading, writing, and maths skills when he got into Hogwarts.

"Yeah, it'll be good for her too. She loves kids and I think it's been hard for her to admit to herself at Ron and Ginny are ready to leave the nest, so to speak. I'm hoping if she gets some other kids to work with, she'll stop babying them."

Harry sat down across from Bill. "Did she approve of you becoming an ambassador?" He always wondered if his parents would have approved of his choices. It didn't matter much, because they were dead, but he often thought about how their presence would have affected the choices he made in life. Would he have taken Ancient Runes because his mum did? Would he have become obsessed with werewolves, or with Quidditch instead like his dad?

"Not really. Well, maybe the circumstances surrounding it. Actually, it's a funny story how I got this job–"

"Oh, I don't want to hear this again," Fabian groaned. "I'm gonna head off. Catch up with you later, Bill."

That reminded Harry what he'd come here for. "Gideon, Yusef here wanted to talk to you about courtship stuff." He was wary what to say in front of Bill, because he wasn't sure just how much about the dominant-submissive dynamics ambassadors were told, so he left it at that.

"Oh, sure," Gideon said. "Come on, Yusef. I need to go check up on the spellwork at the gate, anyway. You can walk with me and we'll talk."

Yusef followed the beta easily, leaving Harry alone with Bill.

"So?" Harry prodded.

Bill launched into a wild tale of how he got a job offer with Gringotts straight out of school but during one of the first expeditions, he'd ended up encountering an omega werewolf who had a veela held capture. The goblins contacted the veela nation, but he'd been convinced the werewolf was going to kill her before rescue arrived. Apparently the omega had fallen into a delusion that she was his mate, but delusions never stayed on rational course.

So Bill launched his own rescue mission, earning the three huge scars he had over his face as a result, only for the fight to be interrupted by a full werewolf pack who had been hunting the rogue omega for weeks by that point. Bill ended up being the negotiator between the pack and the veela nation, because both felt they had the right to kill the omega, and in the process earned a name for himself as a respectful diplomat for magical species.

"The veela's name was Fleur. You probably remember her, yeah? She competed during the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts."

"I do! Is she okay? The omega didn't hurt her too badly, did he?"

"She's fine. Mostly just enraged actually that neither the pack nor her nation let her have the privilege of killing the bugger." Bill scratched his scarred cheek. "We're, uh, engaged now, actually."

Harry grinned. "Wow, congrats. Nice fairytale ending."

Bill snorted. "I suppose it is." He shook his head. "Anyway, I heard that you wanted to be an ambassador for the pack too, before you joined it anyhow."

"I did," Harry said. "It was my biggest dream realized when Remus contacted me about getting an interview. But turns out they were more interested in having me join the pack instead of being a negotiator for it."

"Hem, hem, how interesting." Umbridge stepped out from the doorway—Harry and Bill both turned in her direction, shocked. Her wand was pointed at Bill, showing by how it quivered that she'd used a Point Me spell to find their location. There was nothing wrong with that, what bothered Harry was that she'd obviously been listening in on their conversation before she announced herself. "So you were lured in under false pretenses, Harry, dear?"

"Well, I wouldn't say…" Harry bit his lip. "I agreed to become a member of the pack. It was my choice whether or not to accept the bite."

Umbridge hummed. Harry didn't like the gleam in her eyes. He looked back toward Bill, but Bill was frowning and gave him no encouragement.

"Harry, dear, would you mind terribly submitting to a diagnostic scan? Bill can cast it if it would make you feel better. You two seem to have become friendly."

"Why?" Harry looked back and forth between Umbridge and Bill, but Bill seemed as confused as he was.

"Just to make sure you're healthy, for the record. You were turned later than most and complications can arise from the bite. Did Mr. Lupin not give you all the warnings?"

"No, he did," Harry said, though he'd never heard of complications outside the minor possibility of death. Sometimes people had what amounted to allergic reactions to the bite that killed them. Harry had read a couple articles that theorized these allergic reactions occurred when the person in question had a different type of magical creature in their blood that wasn't compatible with lycanthropy. "Look, what spell exactly?"

Umbridge listed a fairly basic, encompassing diagnostic spell that most mediwitches used. Harry doubted she'd get anything incriminating from that—the worst he figured would show up was his near-sightedness, as it always did.

"Fine," Harry said. He turned to Bill. "You know how to cast it?"

"Sure," Bill agreed, though his tone was uncertain. "If you're okay with it?"

Harry shrugged and waved him to just do it. Bill looked once more at Umbridge, and then cast the spell.

The readings filled the air, all green signifying Harry's health, with yellow for his eyes. The weakness that used to exist in his left knee, something that would have required Skel-A-Grow to fix so he'd never bothered, was gone. Benefits of the bite, he supposed. And then, in flashing red, the readings for his bloodstream tumbled out of Bill's wand.

"What…?"

"Hem, hem, it's as I suspected," Umbridge crowed triumphantly. She tapped her Ministry badge with her wand. "I have a code 203 here at Greyback Manor!" she announced loudly.

"Bill, what is she talking about?" Harry asked frantically.

Bill's eyes were wide with shock. "You've been doused with a lust potion, Harry. Consistently, too; it's permeated your bloodstream. Hard to tell how far back, but at least a week, if not more."

"I took the liberty of interviewing some of the other beasts here," Umbridge said. "A few said some very interesting things about why you were brought to the pack. Seems Fenrir Greyback was interested in you." She suddenly slumped forward and Harry couldn't read it as anything but an act. "Poor dear, he must have doused you with a lust potion before getting you to agree to the bite. That's a felony, you know."

It was… biting someone while they were under the influence of a mind-altering spell or potions was equivalent to biting someone without their consent. It would put Fenrir in Azkaban for life if that was true. But…

"You can't know it was him!" Harry protested.

"Poor dear, did no one tell you? He has a history of coercing young ones to join his pack." She reached forward and patted him on the shoulder. He flinched back from her false sympathy. "He'll get a trial, of course, new liberal laws and all that rot. But don't you worry, dear, he'll pay."

Harry heard a series of howls and he knew the Aurors had arrived at the edge of the property. Gleefully, Umbridge tottered out of the room to go greet them.

Harry's legs were shaking. He sank to the floor. "I don't… was I really… Bill?"

"This spell doesn't lie, Harry," Bill murmured. "I'm sorry. It couldn't have been her, as much as I hate that toad. Like I said, you've been under the influence for at least a week. But… the aurors will investigate. It might not be Fenrir."

Remus burst into the room. "Harry! What happened?"

Harry stared at Remus as Bill quickly explained the situation. If Fenrir doused him, then Remus would have had to know. Remus would have been there for the first. At the tent, he would have had to slip it into Harry somehow. Because Harry was already attracted to Fenrir then and…

But Harry hadn't joined the pack because he was attracted to Fenrir.

Harry surged to his feet and ran out of the sitting room to the front hall. The pack was crowded out on the path, watching in horror as the aurors wrapped silver chains around Fenrir's wrists and walked him away. Fenrir didn't struggle, didn't try to shift into his wolfskin, he just walked with his head held high.

"Why are they taking him? Why do they already assume…?"

"Umbridge was right, Harry… Fenrir has a history of biting kids," Bill whispered. "I know it's awful, but in their eyes, he's the most likely suspect."

"Did she tell you that?" Remus growled. "That's… it's not so simple."

"Then explain it to me, Remus. Why do I have traces of a lust potion in my bloodstream!"

Gideon came forward, his face so pale that Harry couldn't even make out his freckles. "Remus, Harry… what's going on?"

Harry looked up to realize that the entire pack was watching them. He saw Ivo and Misaki standing near the back, Ivo's arm wrapped tightly around Misaki's shaking shoulder. Angie was holding Erin's wrist, stopping her from casting at the aurors.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't stand there in the swell of his own emotions and feel the emotions of his whole pack banging in on him through the pack bond. But he also couldn't abandon them, couldn't leave them confused when it was his own damn fault they were in this situation.

"Umbridge tricked me into allowing a diagnostic spell. She's convinced I was coerced into joining the pack." Harry rubbed his face. "I don't think I was. I'm  _happy_ here, no matter the circumstances of how it happened. But apparently I've been doused with a lust potion for at least a week now. Umbridge assumed…"

"She assumed it was our alpha." Caleb stepped forward. "Are you okay, Harry?"

Harry looked at Caleb and felt like he could breath easy again. Against the raging terror of the rest of the pack, Caleb was calm through the pack bond. Maybe at least one of Fenrir's betas believed they could get through this.

"I'll be okay." Harry dragged his eyes away from Caleb and surveyed the pack. "We'll figure this out. For now, we just need to keep going, keep patrolling and protecting our territory." Harry suddenly realized it wasn't his place to command the pack. He looked to Ivo. "Right?"

Ivo straightened up. There was no mocking laughter in his eyes now. Strangely, Harry missed it. Beside him, Misaki wiped her eyes and lifted her head.

"Harry's correct," Ivo said. "Back to your duties. We'll meet again tomorrow at noon to give an update on the situation."

The pack scattered, some rushing to escape the situation so they could forget it had happened while others moved as if in a dream state.

Harry looked between the betas of the pack, and Bill. They all stood in a loose circle, stunned and uncertain. Harry raised a hand and felt his own beating heart. He wondered when the potion would leave his system… and what he would feel about the werewolves around him when it did.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry locked himself in his room before anyone could pull him aside with questions or demands. Hedwig, the beautiful familiar she was, stood waiting for him on her perch.

"Give me just a moment, girl," he whispered.

Quickly, Harry pulled out parchment and a quill.

 _Hermione,_  he wrote.

_How are you doing? I hope the Department of Muggle Affairs is everything you wanted it to be and that you're learning loads from the people there._

_I'd keep writing pleasantries, but I don't have the time right now. I'm not sure if you heard, since I only wrote to my Hufflepuff friends initially, but I accepted a place among Fenrir Greyback's werewolf pack just a month and a half ago. I hate to ask you a favor so quickly after graduation, but it's imperative that I know if the Department of Magical Creature Regulation was informed of this and when. My alpha was recently arrested, but there's more going on than what's obvious._

_I don't expect anyone will have a problem with your curiosity since you have no obvious connections to the pack. If you'd please find out why Madam Umbridge came to investigate the pack when she did, I would be very grateful._

Harry paused. He almost wrote a line about returning the favor some day, but that was implied in their relationship and though Hermione wasn't as good at seeing undercurrents as Draco, she was far from stupid.

_If it truly was a coincidence, then I'm sorry for wasting your time. But I have a gut feeling that something more is going on and… well, you did have classes with me. You know my gut feelings are usually pretty accurate._

_Thanks Hermione. I really appreciate._

_Sincerely, Harry_

Harry gave the letter to Hedwig and she took off out the window. He watched her until she was out of sight, then rubbed his eyes and left his room.

Misaki was the first to find him. She handed him a potion with bright blue liquid inside. "Flushing drought. I know you have no reason to trust anyone in the pack right now, but I can swear an oath that it's just a flushing drought."

Harry almost made her swear the oath, but his Hufflepuff side won out—if he didn't repay her kindness with loyalty, it would damage their relationship and there was enough damage going around that he'd rather not.

So he took a deep breath and allowed himself to trust her. "Thanks, Misaki." Flushing droughts, like most potions, didn't work on werewolves in their generic form. However, a special type of flushing drought could be made for werewolves. It was extremely hard to craft, though, and the materials expensive. It would have been hard for her to get, and so quickly. But she did anyway and he appreciated it more than he had the emotional capacity to express right then.

Harry drained the potion. It spread through his body like a chill. He stared at the potion bottle while the liquid scoured his insides. Potions… Veretiserum was another potion that didn't work on werewolves and no alternative had been invented. Without the use of the truth serum, Fenrir's trial would be brought before a jury. A jury who would look at his history and assume the worst.

Harry gave the potion bottle back to Misaki. She watched him with dark, sad eyes. He met them. "Have you ever known Fenrir to use potions like that?"

"Never," Misaki said. "Before… Fenrir did bite some people, Harry, who weren't necessarily in their right minds to consent. The laws were different then. The pack was different then. But he never bit someone who explicitly didn't want it. And he's changed in the last decade-and-a-half. His knowledge of morals is stronger. His ethics are clearer, really."

"I believe you," Harry said. And he did. He believed Misaki believed what she was saying. "Does anyone else know you got this for me?"

Misaki shook her head. "I made sure no one did. Not even Ivo."

He could tell it hurt her to mistrust her own mate. But still, she did. That, above anything, proved that Harry's Hufflepuff loyalty had been right. So he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

Misaki rubbed her nose against his chin. He ignored the teardrops he could feel leaking from her eyes and just brushed a hand along her shoulder.

Harry went in search of his suitors. Amy and Charles were in one of the larger sitting rooms. All the children were clustered there with their educators and caretakers. A couple of the adults were playing a game with them—distracting them. The rest stood in a loose semi-circle.

Harry didn't walk into the room, he just looked at the two. Amy still made his smile, fondness and desire to talk to her as strong as ever. But he'd never been entirely lustful in her presence and that hadn't changed. Charles, however…

Gazing at Charles's eye wrinkles, his soft smile lines, and the pinkness of his lips contrasting the paleness of his hair, Harry felt a horrible pang in his stomach.

He wasn't attracted to Charles anymore.

Harry retreated back into the corridor. Objectively, he still felt Charles attractive, but though Charles was an amazing man—Harry no longer felt like he wanted to jump into his bed. He didn't want to have Charles's babies for any reason expect knowing Charles was a great dad. He didn't want to curl into Charles's space. He didn't  _want_ Charles.

He breathed deeply for a moment, trying to calm his racing heart. He turned down the hallway and sprinted out.

Bethany and Emily both found him sitting up on the roof. There wasn't quite enough room for all three of them, but still they squeezed in next to him.

Harry glanced between the two of them. And then paused and glanced at them again.

Because both Bethany and Emily had been somewhat attractive to him before. They were both physically strong. More so than Amy or Tony—who were more intellectual. He'd been interested in Bethany's built figure, her height and defined chin. He'd dreamed about about Emily's bulging calves, thinking about what it would be like for her to chase him down.

None of those sexual thoughts were there anymore.

Like with Charles, he still found the two aesthetically pleasing. On a purely casual sense, he wouldn't object to have sex with either of them. But Harry had never been an extremely lustful being and now that he looked back at the last week, he realized that he'd masturbated more than he ever had before. He'd excused the heightened sexuality to his new dynamic, but… but what if it was the lust potion at work?

"Harry?" Emily asked. "I know we're not supposed to approach you but…"

"Well, Em and I are both officially withdrawing our courtship," Bethany said.

"You don't have to–" Harry immediately went to say.

Bethany shook her head. "Let's be real. We're not near the top of your list. Or, we weren't before all this rot. Right?"

Harry couldn't deny it so he said nothing.

"Look, we figured you had more to worry about right now than how to reject your suitors. So we talked and decided to give you the out ourselves. Don't worry about us, okay? We're not important right now."

"That doesn't mean we don't want to be friends, once this all rolls over." Bethany scratched the back of her head. "It will roll over. We'll get our alpha back, won't we?"

And though it was ridiculous for Harry to be reassuring them, he did anyway. "Of course we will. I'll make sure it."

Surprisingly, both Bethany and Emily relaxed at his words.

"Well, we'll wait a bit before pestering you to hang out." Emily grinned. "Though, no promises if the next Quidditch tournament is approaching. Bethany and I are on the same team and if you're seeker, I'll play chaser instead. Deal?"

Harry laughed. "Deal."

He sat there with the two gammas for a couple more minutes. His chest felt lighter. As he looked out on the pack grounds with two packmates next to him, he reminded himself that he loved being here. He loved this pack. In less than a month, he'd fallen in love. It wasn't with anyone in particular, but it was as strong as any romantic love anyway.

Down on the grounds, Harry spotted Caleb walking toward Fenrir's boulder. The man was shirtless, like he often was. His abs rippled, his biceps bulged.

Harry didn't want Caleb to hold him down with the weight of those muscles anymore. He didn't want to taste that exposed skin. Frankly, Caleb looked almost too much like a body-builder. Nothing like the natural strength of Fenrir or Ivo or even Charles, Bethany, and Emily. Harry wondered if he took muscle enhancing potions and wrinkled his nose at the thought.

"I'll talk to you two later," Harry said and he walked carefully back to the balcony and down into the house. He headed out to where he'd seen Caleb.

Caleb still stood by Fenrir's boulder. Harry stepped up next to him. Caleb glanced at him.

Before Harry could say anything, Caleb stroked his fingers across the smooth rock. "I was fourteen when Fenrir bit me," he said. "My village got caught in a raid. Most evacuated, but I was stuck behind the line of fire. My mum was muggle and she always thought I'd sneak off doing magic during the summers and get in serious trouble, so she locked my wand away. Even during wartime, she didn't let me keep it on me. I've always been tall, always looked older than I was. I was defenseless, but I didn't look it, I guess. Someone got me with a cutting charm and nearly severed my right arm off."

Harry bit his lip as Caleb traced the scar with his hand. It was one of the larger ones, spreading from Caleb's shoulder down to his elbow.

"Fenrir found me bleeding out. He offered me the bite so I would live." Caleb caught Harry's gaze then and Harry recognized the look in them.

One of the field trips Harry took for the seventh year Care NEWTs class was to the dragon reserve where Hagrid's ex-pet dragon, Norberta, lived. Most of the dragons there were free to roam the reserve, but one dragon had been locked into a heavily-warded cage.

"He was injured recently," Charlie Weasley had explained to the concerned group. "He's half-feral by it. Can't process the pain and it's messing with his perception of safety. Intellectually, he knows that we're helping him and sometimes his eyes will be clear and sane. Other times…" Charlie'd pointed sadly as the dragon snapped and snarled, eyes dilated into black rings. "Sometimes he thinks we're the enemy and nothing we do or say will change it while he's in this kind of headspace."

Harry looked at Caleb's dilated eyes and wondered how long Caleb had been living in that cage—only halfway sane.

"I wasn't in my right mind, you understand," Caleb said and it took Harry a second to remember the conversation. "I would have never accepted otherwise. But I was dying and he took advantage of that. Fenrir's a good alpha, I can admit that, but he's not a good man."

"No," Harry agreed. "That wasn't right of him."

Caleb grinned, seemingly happy for the justification. He went back to stroking the smooth boulder.

Harry left. He found the rest of the betas crowded together on the third floor balcony overlooking the main sitting room. Angie knelt at Erin's feet, silent tears still streaking down her face. Misaki stood at Ivo's side, not touching him, not looking at any of them. Gideon stared over the balcony at the pack members below.

They all looked up as Harry entered the balcony. Harry glanced at the dominants. The low burn attraction he'd felt for all of them—because of course he'd been attracted to such strong figures even if he'd never desired to act on that attraction—was mostly gone. Only the barest hints remained, the admiration of Erin's quick hands and Ivo's broad shoulders and Remus's strong arms. His guilt over having even some sexual thoughts for his friends's mates was gone.

Harry looked at Misaki and smiled at her. She collapsed back on herself, obviously relieved. Ivo wrapped an arm around her in concern, glancing from her to Harry.

"Explain it to me, please," Harry said. "Fenrir's history."

"Harry…" Remus sighed.

"Okay," Erin said. She glared at the rest as they began to protest. "Shut up. He deserves to know. Hiding it from him will only make things worse."

Angie slowly got to her feet. "Erin's right." She looked at Harry. "I would have told you from the beginning, but Fenrir asked that we let him tell you himself. Except…"

"That's not quite possible anymore." Ivo rubbed his head. "Well, then, have a seat."

Harry sat. And listened.

The first child Fenrir bit was sixteen. He was near death from dragon pox and begged for it. But dragon pox affected even werewolves and he died anyway.

The next was Ivo. Fenrir was a born wolf, but he lost his pack young. Ivo was his wizard friend, a boy who'd been fascinated by magical creatures and often visited these woods to study them. When Ivo got caught in a muggle fox trap, Fenrir bit him and made him the first member of his pack.

Freya was another he'd bit—a young girl at the time who'd been raped and left for dead. Fenrir bit her and watched as she tore apart the men who'd attacked her.

Several more children, Emily among them, had been bitten during the war. Orphans, injured and left for dead. Emily was only five, but she'd been burned nearly half-to-death. Harry had noticed the edges of those scars on her neck and hands, but never asked. Caleb, too, they explained, was nearly dead when Fenrir bit him.

"It was only ever the ones too far to be saved by Healers. Healers never spent the energy on high-risk cases in those times. Too many to heal and they weren't likely to survive so they had to be let go. Fenrir couldn't stand that. Not with children, so he offered them a choice and bit them," Misaki explained.

"He only bit the ones who were awake enough to answer his question," Gideon said. "So they all consented, even if it wasn't quite right."

Harry glanced at Ivo and Erin, who would have actually been there unlike Gideon. They both nodded.

"He bit me too," Remus said, finally. "My father was abusive. This was before the war and Fenrir was… well he was rasher then. He heard my dad threatening to kill me and attack him. My dad took out a knife and Fenrir laughed at him, but he didn't go after Fenrir. He went after me."

Harry looked at the faded scars across Remus's face.

"I never regretted accepting the bite, though I was too young to know what it really meant." Remus shrugged. "But others have. Some left us. In peaceful and not-so-peaceful ways."

"That's why he doesn't do it anymore," Misaki murmured. "When Timmy killed himself…"

Erin sighed. "It was a hard time for all of us."

Harry met each of their eyes one by one. "Thank you for telling me." He stood.

"Where are you going?" Angie asked.

"Please don't leave us." Gideon's voice broke at the end. "Harry, please."

Harry looked back at him. "I'm not. You're my pack, nothing changes that." He paused. "And Fenrir is our alpha."

"Harry," Ivo said. "What are you planning?"

"I don't know yet." He looked out the high, third floor window. A white speck approached from the horizon. "But that's never stopped me before."

-o-

Hermione's reply was straight and to the point.

_Umbridge is a horrible person, Harry. I asked a bunch of people, on the low of course. I said I was researching magical creature bigotry and some of the friends I've made were only to happy to help._

_She's a bigot. She hates werewolves. And centaurs and vampires and… well you get the gist. I don't understand why she still has her job. She's a holdover from the old days of the department but they haven't found an excuse to get rid of her yet._

_Harry, someone confessed to me that she was given an anonymous tip when you joined the pack. Apparently it insinuated that Fenrir Greyback had coerced you to join and she began pushing for an investigation immediately. But Minister Riddle said Greyback had his full trust and held it off until Umbridge went behind his back to the Auror Department. It's a mess here. There's questions about whether the arrest is legal or not. But there are a lot of people in the Aurors who want to see Fenrir "put down". It's terrible._

_Good luck, Harry. Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help._

-o-

Harry was dressed in his wizarding robes, Hermione's letter stuffed in his back pocket, when Charles stopped him. "You're going after him." It wasn't a question.

"Yes." Harry didn't try to deny it.

Charles looked at him, then back at the house. "Can you just answer me something?"

"Of course." Harry turned to face Charles fully, confused. "What is it?"

"Why are you denying him?" Charles flushed. "I mean… Harry, I want you. I can't deny that. I know I'm not the only one. We wouldn't be courting you otherwise, I think." He cracked a smile.

Harry couldn't smile back.

Charles sighed. "When you came back from the forest with him, with those leprechauns, it was like I was seeing a completely different you. I know you're weighing your options, or you were before all this mess, but… I think in light of everything the only way you'll be able to rescue our alpha is if you're absolutely certain."

"You want me to choose right now? When I've just been told I was under the effects of a lust potion?"

"I don't think sexual desire has anything to do with it, not really." Charles touched Harry's cheek. "When I see you with him, your body language is always so torn. Like your straining to be close to him and trying to break away at the same time. Just, tell me, what is it that has you holding back?"

Harry looked at Charles, at the desperation in him, the same desperation he'd seen in the eyes of the entire pack except one, and couldn't let himself lie. "I didn't want to be the alpha submissive of this pack. I didn't think it was right for me to take that responsibility. So I told myself he wasn't right for me instead of being hurt."

"But Harry," Charles withdrew his hand from Harry's cheek, "you already are our alpha submissive."

"What?"

"Just think about what you've been doing since the Ministry worker arrived. When they took him away, you were the one who stepped forward and took control. You've been handed an awful plate. You have every right to lock yourself away, to leave the pack, to retreat in whatever way you want. But you didn't, because you've already embraced your responsibility to this pack. And you've taken to the role far better than anyone would have expected. I admire you so much for that."

Harry looked up at the manor house. For a second, he saw the scene as if in a broken mirror—then, for the first time since he'd become a werewolf, the pieces reassembled like a jigsaw puzzle and he saw clearly. He remembered the grove where Fenrir had taken him, the animals, the pixies, the unicorns. He thought about the gammas and the betas—dominant and submissive both.

 _His_ pack.

"I suppose I have been." He refocused on Charles. "I really do care about you. No matter what, you deserve so much happiness."

"But so do you," Charles whispered. "And if it's not with me, then isn't that beside the point? I can't really speak for the rest, but it would be selfish of us to continue pursuing you when it's obvious that your heart has decided."

It was funny, Harry thought, that all the youngest of his suitors had said nearly the same thing. If he had to guess, he supposed it was only Amy's desire to pick his brain that had kept her from admitting what had been obvious between them from the beginning.

"I suppose you're right. For what it's worth, though, I'm sorry."

Charles's smile was more fond than it was bitter and that was relieving enough. "Bring our alpha home, Harry."

-o-

Harry met Draco in the atrium of the Ministry.

"Didn't expect to see you so soon," Draco greeted. "Though, considering the rumors I've been hearing…"

"Just take me to him, please."

Draco dropped the pleasantly surprised act and nodded. "We'll have to take the back way so you don't get stopped by the outer guards, but my father assures me there won't be any resistance from the inner ones. Not until the lunch rotation, anyway."

Draco led him down the lift and across three separate corridors until they ended up at the back entrance of the Ministry holding cells. The guard of the back door, a man Harry only vaguely recognized as possibly being the parents of one of his Slytherin classmates, let them through without a word. There were two guards posted on either side of the silver-threaded bars. Draco led them away—giving Harry some privacy with the occupant of the cell.

Fenrir looked terrible. They'd taken his wand, of course, but Harry didn't understand why they'd taken his vest and trousers as well. All he wore was loose white hospital pants that flowed around his knees. It made him look vulnerable—or as vulnerable as a massive werewolf could, anyway.

"Harry? Why… why are you here?"

"I had to see you." Harry stepped forward. "Did they hurt you?"

"Not much." Fenrir looked around for his guards. "Did you sneak into the Ministry?"

Harry smiled. "You asked about Hufflepuff loyalty once. Well, here it is."

Fenrir shuddered. "I didn't potion you. I know you have no reason to believe my promises, but I didn't potion you. I'd never… it's a fucking awful thing to do."

"I know you didn't." Harry knelt down in front of the cage. He wanted to reach through it, to touch Fenrir, but the silver would hurt him just as much so he didn't. "I still find you attractive."

Fenrir scowled. "Of course you do. It's barely been twenty-four hours."

"No, I had a flushing drought." Harry smiled, though even to him it felt bittersweet. "I found you attractive the minute I saw you, Fenrir. I've never lusted after people before, not really. I've thought of people as handsome or cute or whatever but… I found you so attractive it nearly brought me to my knees. Except, when I started the courtship I realized you weren't the only one. I found most of them attractive. Charles and Bethany and Emily and… Caleb."

"What are you trying to say?"

"It wasn't a person-keyed lust potion. I think it must have been keyed to athleticism or strength or something like that. It didn't work on Amy and Tony much, but it worked on the rest of you to varying degrees. I don't find them as attractive anymore, Fenrir. Any of them. But you still make my knees weak."

Fenrir took an audibly shaky breath. He crawled forward and stopped just before the bars. "Harry, I'm sorry this happened. I don't… no matter what my instincts say, you should have had a proper choice."

"Don't blame yourself." Harry gently touched the space between the bars and winced as the silver wards burned the tips of his fingers. "I held myself back from you, because I didn't want to do what everyone was expecting. I've never been good at conforming to expectations, not like that. But no one affects me like you do, Fenrir."

Fenrir expression was so terrible that Harry felt himself begin to tear up. "I can say the same. I've been searching a long time for a mate, and never once has anyone come close to you. I wish…" He bowed his head. "But it doesn't much matter now, does it?"

"You're not guilty. Not of this."

"I'm guilty of enough. If this is my penance, well so be it."

Harry pressed forward harder and nearly yelped at the pain it caused. "Fenrir! What about the pack?"

"My pack is stable. Ivo will make a good alpha. Or Erin, if Ivo doesn't want it. We have a good territory and posterity ready to protect it in the future. I've accomplished more than I thought I could. If that's all I got to see, the restoration of my pack, then I'm happy."

"What about me?" Harry felt the tears actually begin to fall then. "What about us?"

Fenrir let out a low, wounded sound. "Please, Harry. Don't make this harder than it is."

That, more than anything, convinced Harry what he had to do. He wiped away his tears angrily and stood. "No. I won't accept this. This whole thing has been a shit show. I deserved to figured my own feelings out. I deserved a proper courtship. And it's not your fault that I didn't get it, but I know whose it is."

He spun on his heels. Fenrir called out after him, but Harry ignored him. Draco looked surprised as Harry stormed past him. He knew there were still tears in his eyes, but they were held there out of fury now more than sadness.

"Potter! Harry! Harry Potter, where are you going!?" Draco yelled.

Harry took the lift to the upper floor of the Ministry. He was stopped by wand point at the entrance to the Minister's office.

"Tell Riddle I need to speak with him," Harry snarled. "I'm Harry Potter, Fenrir's newest pack member."

"Minister Riddle is in a meeting," one of the auror guards said. "You can't go through."

Harry considered him. "The meeting is about me. I have every right to be there."

"You don't know–" the other guard began.

The door opened. Riddle looked out, amber eyes glowing with faint amusement. "The boy is correct, Gerald. Let him in."

Harry strode past the guards. He gave Riddle a nod and then brushed past him to.

Inside, Umbridge sat with a smug smile over her pale lips. Next to her was Rufus Scrimgeour, the Head Auror.

"Oh, Harry, dear," Umbridge said, the same simper in her voice.

Harry stared at her and she flinched back, seeming surprised by the ferocity of his gaze. He wondered if his wolf's yellow had bled into his eyes.

"We were just discussing a proper trial for Fenrir Greyback, Mr. Potter." Riddle said, moving back into the room. "I'm afraid proper procedures weren't followed so it's been delayed. If you'll consent to giving your statement to the aurors, it should speed things up."

"I'll give my statement," Harry said. He looked at Scrimgeour. "Fenrir didn't potion me. It was another werewolf in the pack by the name of Caleb Parker. Caleb conspired against his alpha by telling Madam Umbridge, a known hater of my kind, that Fenrir had coerced me into the pack. He then took advantage of my first public appearance in the pack, after I'd been bitten, to slip a lust potion into my food—knowing that it would show up on a scan and implicate Fenrir."

"Have you any proof?" Scrimgeour asked.

"Food is usually taken from a public banquet, making it difficult to give anyone a lust potion. I never once left a glass of water or anything alone and came back to it during my time at the pack. The only time someone who have had a chance to slip me a potion was during that one meal. One of my friends put all the food on the table for us, likely enlisting the help of others like, perhaps, Caleb. The only others who ate at the table with me that night were mated. Behavior modifiers like lust and love potions don't work on mated werewolves. Caleb would have known I'd be the only one affected."

Harry took a deep breath and continued. "I remember feeling dizzy after eating only a little. I thought it was because of… other things, but looking back I've never been nauseous from just people's attention, positive or negative. Soon enough, I had the chance to interact with more members of the pack. I found several people of very similar physical types immensely attractive."

"You don't believe the potion was keyed to a specific person?" Riddle pressed. His amber eyes were sparkling, as if he were deeply interested. Harry wondered if he would have found that intimidating. Except, he had a purpose and very little could stop Harry when he had a goal to achieve. It was the Hufflepuff dedication, after all.

"I took a flushing drought this morning. I'm not attracted to all those people anymore."

"Attraction is fickle among youths," Umbridge said. "That's hardly a valid–"

"That's all beside the point," Scrimgeour cut her off. "We've no way to prove this either way and if you've already taking a flushing drought, we can't even prove you were ever potioned."

"But my report!"

"You didn't follow proper procedures, Madam Umbridge!" Scrimgeour snapped back. "If you'd just waited for sanctions, all this would have been okay, but your testimony is not enough. Not unless Mr. Potter wants to file charges as the victim. You can't do it for him."

"I don't," Harry said, to be clear.

"Even against this Mr. Parker?" Riddle asked.

Harry met Riddle's intimidating gaze. "Pack law if very clear. What Caleb did is an internal problem, not a Ministry one." He glanced at Umbridge. "I think you have enough of your own clean up to do."

Riddle followed his gaze. "I suppose we do."

Umbridge paled, as if she was only just now realizing that Fenrir was a personal friend of the Minister. "Well, I… I was only trying to…"

Harry didn't want to hear it. "Thank you for your time, Minister Riddle, Auror Scrimgeour."

"My pleasure, Mr. Potter," Riddle said. He smiled slow. "Perhaps I'll take Fenrir up on one of his invitations to visit the pack soon. To see how you're settling in after all of this."

Harry snorted. He saw Riddle's game. "We'll host you a lovely feast, Minister."

-o-

It took a few hours for Scrimgeour to get the paperwork through to release Fenrir, but when he finally did, Harry was there to help him put his pack clothes back on and return his wand.

"What did you do?" Fenrir asked.

"Just had a talk with your old friend." Harry grinned. "Now, are you ready to get my justice for me?"

Fenrir stilled. "Harry?"

Harry leaned up and slowly gave Fenrir a gentle kiss on the lips. "I don't love you, Fenrir. It's too soon for that, I think. But, despite it all, I did fall in love with  _our_ pack. And I'm ready to stop denying myself what I really want."

Fenrir growled, more needy than any sound Harry had heard him make. He crowded Harry up against the wall—still only just outside the Ministry—and kissed him breathless. "Mine."

"Yours," Harry agreed. He pressed a hand to Fenrir's chest. "And you're mine. You and your pack."

Fenrir let out a little shaking laugh. "Is that so?"

Harry smiled. "But I'm not going to fall into bed with you yet, because I will still keep this courtship at my pace until we're both ready. That means you're still the only true alpha and you'll have to be on the one to enact pack justice for me."

Fenrir's eyes darkened. "What happened?"

So Harry explained. And by the end, Fenrir was shaking for an entirely different reason then relief.

Harry merged into Fenrir's space, so relieved now that he could. Fenrir tucked him close, breathing in his hair.

"I'll kill him," Fenrir said.

"Not unless he attacks," Harry murmured. "You should know the laws better than me. Exile him, spread his name out for all the civilized packs of the UK to know who he is and what he's done, but you can't kill him."

Fenrir's grip on him tightened. "He potioned you."

"But he never raped me, and I don't think he ever intended to. He wasn't interested in me, really. It was you and his revenge that he was focused on. He's not in his right mind, Fenrir, not really, and I can only hope that some distance from the pack you built will help him. Force him out of his cage. May he'll heal if he's allowed to spread his wings."

"You've got some strange metaphors." Fenrir sighed. "Okay. I won't kill him. But if he so much as steps in your direction…"

"I don't need your protection."

Fenrir stroked the back of his neck and Harry shivered. "I know you don't. But you've protected me enough these past twenty hours or so. I think it's my turn."

Harry conceded with a small burst of internal relief. "Yeah, I guess it is."

-o-

The joy Fenrir felt through his pack bonds as he and Harry made their way across the grounds was nearly overwhelming. He felt Harry sway next to him and wondered just when Harry's bonds had opened up enough for him to feel so much too. He wasn't as surprised as he should be. He pressed a hand to the small of Harry's back and steadied him, so relieved he finally had permission to do so. Harry looked up at him and Fenrir smiled. "You'll get used to it," he said. "I doubt it'll take you as long as it took me."

Harry nodded, that charming blush spreading over his cheeks.

They led the pack out to the meeting grass. Fenrir embraced his dominant betas while beside him he saw Harry get nearly crushed under the combined hugs of Misaki, Angie, and Gideon. It felt right, the team they all made.

"What?"

Fenrir turned to his remaining beta, the traitor. His fury tore through him and he nearly lost control. Claws sprouted from his fingertips as he saw the werewolf and thought of what he'd done to Harry, to their pack.

Small fingers entwined with his, soothing him. Fenrir let himself be comforted by Harry, until he was calm. Harry made to pull back, but Fenrir tightened his grip on Harry's hand.

"Caleb Parker, I charge you with treason against myself, your alpha, and against my intended mate, future alpha of this pack."

Fenrir heard Harry's breath catch. He knew there was no precedence for including only a courted submissive in the formal vows like that, but he hadn't been able to stop the words. Even if Harry did end up rejecting him later, even if they moved along courtship only to discover they weren't right for each other after all, Harry was still the alpha submissive of this pack. Fenrir could feel as much in the pack bonds—in the way the web had expanded so that Harry was now at the center next to him.

So, he met Caleb's feral gaze and held the hand of the young man who'd pierced him like a silver arrow.

"Under pack law, you are declared an omega. I cast you out a traitor for conspiring to have your alpha arrested under false charges and for forcing a lust potion on a fellow pack member. If you step foot in this territory again, you will be killed."

Fenrir gestured for Ivo to go gather Caleb's belongings. Ivo left at a swift run in wolf form and came back a few tense minutes later with all of Caleb's things shrunk and floating behind him.

Caleb stood in the center of the pack, feral eyes darting to and fro. Fenrir dared him to step forward, to show aggression, to attack. He longed to take the man down, to rip his throat out for all that he did.

Caleb's gaze moved to Harry and Fenrir growled. But Caleb didn't attack, didn't snarl, didn't even move. His mouth settled into a straight line and slowly, he bowed his head.

"I didn't mean for you to get caught up in this," he murmured and Fenrir knew the words were for Harry. "But… he's a monster. Can't you see that?"

"He's a man with faults like any other," Harry replied. "So are you. Yours hurt me just like his hurt you. Can't you see that?"

Caleb's shoulders shook, but he bared his throat. Fenrir stepped forward and scrapped his teeth along the edge. If he made it a little harder than necessary, well at least he didn't break skin.

The pack bond between them, and between Caleb and everyone else, shattered. Caleb let out a choked cough. Ivo grabbed him by the shoulder, Erin on his other side, and together they escorted him off the grounds.

Fenrir turned to his pack. "I'm proud of you all," he said. "This is a setback for us, but it's a step forward too. We'll push through like we always have. If you're still with me?"

"Yes, Alphas!" the pack chorused.

Next to him, Harry blushed bright red, likely catching the plural as Fenrir had.

Fenrir grinned. "Harry?"

Harry rubbed his cheeks. "Ugh. Back to work, all of you."

The pack scattered and Fenrir laughed loud and clear across the grass. He didn't stop until Harry pulled him down for a kiss.


	8. Epilogue

"You're spending so much time with that new submissive, you hardly have any time for me anymore."

Harry laughed as Fenrir crowded into his space. "Come now, mate of mine, surely you aren't jealous? You know she was a housemate."

"Do you have to sleep in the lounge with her?" Fenrir nipped at his neck. 

Harry turned his head to give his dominant better room. "It's the same,  _ah_ , that Misaki and Angie and Gideon did for me during my first month."

Fenrir huffed. He picked Harry up and with a show of strength that never stopped giving Harry excited chills, he threw Harry onto the bed. Harry bounced slightly then relaxed back against the sheets. 

Fenrir crawled onto the bed to join him. "Well, for the next few hours you're all mine. Clear?"

"Yes, mate," Harry replied. He spread his legs wide so Fenrir could settle between them.

"Good." Fenrir took his mouth in a brutal kiss—the kind that Harry could only submit to, the kind that conquered his body and left his mind in chaos.

Harry reveled in the crushing weight of his mate on top of him. He couldn't move, completely surrounded by Fenrir. As Fenrir drew his mouth away, Harry pushed up needfully, eager for more of those breathtaking kisses.

Fenrir denied him, though, even when he whined. Instead, he chuckled. "So impatient. Perhaps if you'd taken more time away from the girl to spend in my bed…"

"Don't be mean," Harry pouted. "Fenrir, please."

"Yeah, yeah."

Harry gently nipped at Fenrir's lips and Fenrir indulged him for a moment. Then he bent and bit down on the mating mark over Harry's left shoulder. Harry howled the sudden shock of pure pleasure. He spasmed, his cock not ready to come but needing to anyway. He orgasmed without ejaculating instead and it was as painful as it was amazing.

"Beautiful," Fenrir murmured. He licked the sensitive mark while his big fingers began to slowly thrust lube inside Harry's ass. "My gorgeous mate."

Harry couldn't think from pleasure and need. He smelled the strength of Fenrir's musk and his mouth watered with the desire to taste it, but Fenrir had different plans. He pulled Harry's legs up and Harry spread himself as far as he could go.

"Mine," Fenrir said again as he thrust into Harry's hot hole. Harry rocked back against their smooth sheets as Fenrir pounded into him.

Harry didn't have the words to speak a reply, so he turned his head enough to bite down hard on Fenrir's nearest arm. Fenrir growled and they both spun in painful pleasure—a truly delicious combination for werewolves, where heightened healing would have them ready to ravage each other again by tomorrow night.

Fenrir pulled out and thrust back in with one slow slide. Harry couldn't take the change of pace and writhed on the bed. Fenrir kissed him, soft and gentle. "Come for me."

Harry ejaculated white cum all over Fenrir's hard stomach. He gasped out incomprehensible syllables as Fenrir finished inside him, rubbing against his sensitive cock as he thrust the final few times.

Fenrir collapsed on top of Harry. Harry loved this part best, the sensation of it, of being grounded by his dominant. He felt the contentment spread through their mating bond and the sense of  _home, love, safety._

Grunting, Fenrir roll off of Harry and pulled him up into his arms instead. Harry snuggled close and breathed their combined scents. "Mine," he said back.

"Always," Fenrir replied.

-o-

Hannah Abbott had requested the bite after contracting a rather nasty pixie-spread disease while exploring in the Amazon. Fenrir had accepted her proposal because Harry had told him to—if any of his housemates were to become werewolves for any reason, he wanted them in his pack.

Hannah ended up submissive, so Harry sat in the submissive-only lounge with her on the final week before her first courtship period. "You don't have to accept anyone this first go round," Harry told her. "Or you can drag it out as long as you want until your comfortable with the thought of bonding with one of them. There's no time limit and if the dominant gets impatient then they're not right for you anyway."

"How long did it take you?" Hannah asked.

"Too bloody long," Gideon groaned from the couch. "The UST nearly killed the pack before Harry finally dragged Fenrir to bed."

Harry blushed. "I ended up waiting for nearly a year, but… mostly, I wanted to put off being the official alpha submissive of the pack until I really felt ready for  _all_ the responsibilities. I was ready for Fenrir long before that. It doesn't take werewolves as long as humans to get in the right place for commitment."

"I can see that." Hannah brushed her hair back. She as beautiful as a wolf as she was as a human—all chocolate brown like her skin and with the same natural blond highlights in her hair. She glanced out the window. Harry, sitting on the windowsill with her, followed her gaze.

Out on the lawn, Charles played with several of the younger pups while his preteen daughter, Karla, watched and laughed. Charles was a beta now, after taking his yearlong beta quest in the Ministry where he helped reorganize the Department for Magical Creature Regulation. He'd been the perfect choice—too calm to let bigots rile him up and charming enough to endear the neutral parties to his side.

"Who's that?" Hannah asked.

"Charles Thompson, the fourth beta of the pack." Harry watched Hannah's eyes glaze over as she continued to watch him. "What are you feeling?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "It's just, when I look at him, my heart beats fast and I can't quite think straight. He's… really attractive."

"He's pretty old for you," Angie said.

"I've always liked older men," Hannah murmured. "More experienced, more respectable."

"Charles is that," Misaki agreed with a knowing smile.

Harry met her gaze over Hannah's head and smiled too.

-o-

A week later, Harry left Hannah with Amy and Yusef for the full moon pack meeting. Yusef had opened up his second courting period a few months before and Amy had ended up taking interest in the shy submissive. Harry thought they were a good match and Yusef had confessed several times how he was thinking about taking the next step in the courtship so they could be officially bonded.

On the boulder, Fenrir sat waiting for Harry. As Harry passed Charles, standing in line with the other betas, he stopped and whispered, "Don't turn down your opportunity to court my friend just because you think it'll make things awkward between us, or because you think you're too old for her."

Charles blushed. "I… she's very attractive, but…"

"No denials. You feel even more called to her than you did to me, don't you?"

Sighing in defeat, Charles said, "I guess I have a thing for Hufflepuffs."

Harry laughed and walked the rest of the way to Fenrir. Fenrir pulled him up into his lap and Harry settled against the crook of his arm. Harry looked left and met the teasing laughter in Ivo's eyes. He stuck out his tongue and Ivo waggled his eyebrows in reply.

The pack grew quiet, waiting for their alphas. Together, Harry and Fenrir started the meeting as the full moon waited just below the horizon.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also a published author! If you're interested in my original m/m works, check out my author website at http://www.skylarjaye.com


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